Pokemon: The Lords of the Elements
by Omnistar
Summary: Some history should never be forgotten. When a relic from an ancient past reveals itself that has the power to both destroy the world and to heal it, Ash and his friends must unite to stop those who seek the relic for evil. The world is at war against the coming darkness and itself. Will Ash save it, or will he meet bitter failure? (Rated T-M. Introducing cross-evolution!)
1. Prologue

Pokemon: The Lord of the Elements

 **Hi, everyone! I had already posted this story before, but I had suffered the loss of my old computer and lost all of my documents, including drafts for this story. Needless to say, I was angry about that. Anyway, when I got a new computer, I read over this story and felt that it needed a bit of rewriting. Not only for grammatical and spelling errors, but I also felt like there certain items that needed to changed/added to help the flow of the story. Frankly, I think this story could have a huge plot, and reading over what I had so far just got my mind reeling all over again. That being said, changes had to be made to the story so it would make better sense. And, to be completely honest with you, I don't think I was being the best to this story that I could I have been. That is unfair to myself as the writer, and unfair to you as the readers. For that, I apologize. Anyway, without further interruption, here are the reworked chapters of "** Pokemon: The Lord of the Elements **."**

 _ **Disclaimer: Seriously, if I owned ANY part of Pokémon, why would I be wasting financial aid on college and putting myself in unnecessary debt? Moreover, why would I be writing fanfiction?! (Well… actually, considering how bad B &W was, the fact Ash lost the Kalos League, and how bad S&M might be, I can see a couple reasons why the owner might want a fanfiction story…. Oh, never mind. My point is: I CLAIM NOTHING!)**_

Prologue

The Gathering Storm

Storm clouds raged over a small island in the middle of the sea. The island itself could only be described as lonely, being far away any civilization. Yet it had the appearance of being a once great citadel, a fortress without equal. Indeed, the entire island was its own fortress. Its walls were tall, its battlements were well placed to protect every side save for the port, and there were levels to the ancient city that assumed the form of a great and tall tower. In fact, the levels of the citadel climbed the inactive island volcano and the top was crowned by a fortress keep that held was built by a strange rock that dazzled in brilliant gold under sunlight and silver in the moonlight.

Yet, being ancient as the city was, it had no people who lived there. In truth, the city should not have been, for it came from under the sea. How long it was drowned, who could say? But, strangely enough, there it was. How the waters of the sea did not destroy the city when it drowned was even stranger, but the walls stood. Whether it came to be protected by a pokémon or some other power could not be known, but what was known was that the citadel that sparkled and glowed like the stars was wrapped in the darkness of the raging storm. The only light that reflected off of it was the lighting, making it seem as if a monster was rising from the waters. And the lightning flashed consistently, causing the rapid and torrential rainfall to be seen as well the crashing and thrashing waves.

It would have been a fool's errand to venture out onto such waters, and even more foolish to try to brave an adventure to island citadel that was the center of this storm. Yet, it was that exact reason that one boat had found its way to the citadel port, for the storm came from the citadel.

"This seems oddly familiar, doesn't it?" a young man asked a large gray cat that was a little shorter than he was with a long purple tail. The cat stood on its hind legs and its eyes were piercing. The young man, on the other hand, wore mostly blue colors: jeans and a blue jacket. However, his shoes were black and his hat was red with a white top half of a pokéball and a small green "L" shape in the middle of ball half.

"All too familiar," the cat answered. "We should proceed with caution. We don't know what could be here."

"You can't sense anything?" the young man asked in surprise.

"No," the cat answered, "and that is what worries me. It is possible we are being lead into a trap."

"Villains are fond of traps," the young man chuckled, thinking about a certain trio that specialized in traps. "Are you sure you cannot stop this storm? You created one like it once."

"This is one is different," the cat said. "Or at least the power that drives it is different. It is stronger than I am. Far stronger. It may be the same power that is preventing my ability to sense anything."

"Is it preventing you from doing anything?" the young man asked with concern.

"No," the cat shook its head. "It's strong, but not that strong. But it may also be medallion around your neck that protects us against the creature that rules here. The closer we get to it, the weaker your medallion may become."

The medallion the cat spoke of hung around the young man's neck. The plate of the medallion was golden, and a star of many points was etched into the plate. There were eighteen points, and at the end of each point was a groove that held a gem in it. The gems were all of different color and had a faint glow to them, though it had gone unnoticed by the young man until now. There was also another groove that held a stone that was grayish-black. It did not glow, but rather sat in a cold state.

"Then we will need to keep our guard up," the young man nodded.

"Indeed," the cat answered. "But, even if no one else is here, the creature, Shin'en, _is_."

"Why would it be alone?" the young man asked.

"I do not know," the cat answered. "Perhaps it is toying with us. If it is as powerful as they say, guards would seem rather unnecessary. Still… it all seems too easy. But we cannot stay here. The longer we tarry, the more likely we will be noticed."

The young man simply nodded, taking the lead up the winding road. The skies flashed and cracked, as if a window were being shattered next to them, and the intensity of the sounds made the ground vibrate under them. The wind kicked and howled miserably, as if urging the duo to turn back and forego the doom that was surely about to befall them. Yet, they carried on through the howling winds, the freezing and pelting rains, and terrible lightning. Ever upward they climbed, but no other souls did they encounter. No other sounds were there other than the wailing storm. Even as they approached their destination, the young man thought of happier times. He thought of the friends that were so dear to his heart. He thought of home, of Pallet Town, how the music of the voices of different pokémon played in the morning to signal the swift sunrise. He thought of his partner, Pikachu, and the pain of their parting.

 _"It was for the best,"_ he thought sadly. _"I couldn't bring Pikachu here. He had to protect them. But I promised them all that I would return. If I were to break that promise… Pikachu would care for them."_

He left all of his pokémon and his friends. He couldn't put their lives in danger. And if he fell, his friends would take care of his pokémon. But Pikachu would be the one to protect his friends. Like him, Pikachu would rush first into the conflict and ask questions later. They both put their lives at great risk in order to protect those they cared for.

 _"I'm so sorry,"_ he thought sadly when flashes of his dearest friends came to his mind. _"I left to save you. Don't give up. Never give up until the end."_

"We're here," the cat said grimly, staring at the shining fortress keep that overlooked the island and ocean surrounding it.

The young man simply nodded as he felt his blood turn icy cold. What evil was behind those doors, he did not know, but he did know that he had to stop it. When they entered the room, the rush of the battle came quickly. He knew not how long it lasted, but the next thing he vividly remembered was being on the floor as dark laughter filled the room. Across from the young man was the cat, his friend, who lay there unconscious and with blood pouring from this mouth.

"Mewtwo…," he said weakly, "Mewtwo, wake up! Please…. I… I need your help. We can't give up. Not now!"

"I'm afraid you're a bit late for that," another voice said, the sound of the voice filled with the arrogance of triumph. "Your friend is dying, and so are you. I could show you mercy and kill you now to spare you the fate of watching your world be destroyed, but I think not. No, you will suffer while I prolong your miserable life and watch everyone you love die. And when I hear you beg me for death, then I will show you mercy."

"You won't win," the young man said, growling at his adversary, who was cloaked in a cloud of shadow. "Not while the world stands united against you."

"That's where you're wrong, boy," his adversary, Shin'en, smirked, its bright red eyes glowing menacingly from the shadow it was hidden in. "You brought me the medallion. It is all I need to take the throne at Spear Pillar. Not even The One and that fool, Arceus, could hope to defeat me now. You have failed, much like the rest of your family. And now, Ketchum, you will die like the rest of your race. Only… I shall kill you last."

A small ball of energy glowed in the dimly lit throne as Ash stared into the red eyes of his adversary, only grow larger and brighter with time. Ash clinched his fists tightly, not wanting to look away from the certain doom that was about to befall him. But, even as death stared him in the face, and the ball of energy was about to burst forth, Ash thought of his friends. He had fought with every ounce of strength he had. He could not fail here, but his heart and mind were ready to give into despair.

" _Pikachu,"_ he thought with a sad, but pained smile. _"I'm glad you aren't here for this. Please, protect them, buddy. I'm counting on you… Keep them safe..."_

Then, in a blinding flash and the sound of an inferno, the ball of energy shot towards him.


	2. Chapter 1

Pokemon: The Lords of the Elements

 **WARNING: Tobacco, alcohol, slight torture, and character death is in this chapter. Those who are sensitive to such subjects are recommended to not read this chapter. Thank you for your attention.**

Chapter 1

The Shadows of Time

Celebi awoke from the nightmare she had had for the last month. It was always the same nightmare: the castle on the island, the dark master whose laugh put fear in her heart, and the boy who lay dying on the cold, hard floor, watching helplessly as the world was about to be destroyed. The only problem was that Celebi, as much as she could travel and exist throughout time and see multiple possible futures, she could not enter the future she had just dreamed about, only see it in her dreams.

 _"Perhaps it was because the future I saw was what could happen and not what will?"_ She thought. _"No, for even when I see other futures, I know I can try to stop them…. Here, I felt powerless, like I couldn't do anything… like every other time I had the dream…."_

She had the same musings every other time she had this nightmare, and the first time she dismissed the nightmare as a dream only. However, the more the dream happened, the more doubt filled her heart. The boy seemed familiar to her somehow, though she could not place a finger on it. Perhaps one of her cousins knew the boy, if they were having the same dreams she was. Or even Dialga knew of him.

 _"Dialga…."_ Celebi thought. _"He probably knows all things that are hidden from me. But what if there are things that are hidden from him? Would not Dialga, Palkia, or even Arceus stoop down to save the world if they knew it threatened?"_

Of course, Celebi knew the answer was "no." Dialga and Palkia were both as likely to destroy the world as they were to save it, as well as Arceus. They were all too unpredictable, and therefore spent more time sleeping than anything else. Though she knew that Arceus was moved to pity at times by some humans, they were few and far between. "Almost nonexistent" would be probably be the better phrase, but she also knew that the word "almost" carried far more worth than any word could accurately describe. The "almost nonexistent" number of people that Arceus took pity on, therefore, were many times the salvation of humanity, and why Arceus had not yet destroyed the world.

"You look troubled," a voice said softly to Celebi.

Celebi turned to the voice and saw a floating pinkish-white cat with blue eyes. The cat was small, perhaps maybe a foot in length, half the size of Celebi, and its tail was probably the length of its body. The cat stared curiously at Celebi, but Celebi knew that the cat saw further than its eyes revealed.

"And you already know my troubles, Mew," Celebi answered, not wanting to play games. "Why ask for what you already know?"

"I ask simply because it is good for one to let go of his troubles," Mew explained, floating closer towards Celebi. "What have you seen?"

Celebi looked down to the ground before closing her eyes and shaking her head. The images flashed in her mind. They were just images, though, lacking in detail like an incomplete painting that only tells a small piece of larger tale.

"Darkness…." Celebi said quietly, no louder than a frightened whisper. "Death. A monster robed in shadow, and a boy standing hopelessly against it. And… I saw another."

"Another?" Mew asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The boy called him Mewtwo," Celebi explained. "He and the boy were to die together against the monster."

"Mewtwo…." Mew muttered as he looked out into the night's sky. "Yes, I have heard of him. A cousin had dealings once with Mewtwo."

Celebi studied Mew as he was lost to his thoughts. She had heard of strange things in the world, and had seen things stranger. Her sight had allowed her gaze on the pokémon that Mew was barely familiar with. And with the sight of Mewtwo, she also saw the boy.

"The boy has been with Mewtwo before," Celebi observed.

"Yes," Mew nodded, "he has. Twice, as you have no doubt seen, with one, and once with another. And has had dealings with other pokémon, greater and lesser. I must bring this news to the Elder Ones…."

"The Elder Ones?" Celebi frowned. "Pokémon who have forsaken all, even their own?"

"Yes," Mew chuckled. "The Elder Ones have deeper ties to this even we know. And long have they tried to block the sight of many from discovering the truth of their shame."

"And what truth is that?" Celebi mused. "Who and what are the Elder Ones that they alone can hide themselves and the past from all save Dialga, Palkia, and even Arceus?"

"Greater Pokémon," Mew answered plainly. "Of which you are one, and few, even amongst the Greater Pokémon, know of."

Mew turned to leave, heading to where Celebi knew she could now follow. He stopped for a moment, turning his head slightly to lay a final eye upon Celebi. He smiled. It was a small smile, and maybe even not all comforting to Celebi in the moment, but Celebi returned the gesture.

"Ketchum," Mew said finally after his pause, his eyes in a sudden, yet soft, glow. "The boy's name is Ketchum. And that name may well be the doom of the world, whether that doom be for good or ill. It has been many times. Already events have transpired that cannot be undone, as much as many may wish it. This task I give to you, Celebi, to find not the boy, but his father. And if not here, then in time."

"And how do you have such information?" Celebi asked.

"I hope one day I can tell you," Mew lamented. "And perhaps I will get that chance."

And, with the blink of the eye, Mew had vanished from Celebi's sight in a burst of light. Celebi gazed in thought before closing her eyes focusing her energy. She felt time move around her as images began to form until a story began to unfold before her. And even here, she knew that she could do nothing to change the events that were about to take place.

…

An older man, grey in hair, but still with a spring in his step, walked into a large parlor room, sunlight dancing upon the beige walls, the golden columns, and the red carpet. Across from the old man was a younger man, probably in his fourties, brown of hair and dressed in a suit, sitting in a large brown chair while scratching the ear of his Persian. The large, beige cat purred under his master's touch before opening his eyes to glare at the old man in a dark joy. Even if Celebi was not in the room physically, she could already feel evil intent.

"Giovanni!" The old man greeted and bowed. "It is an honor, and has been a long time, truly."

"Klaudius…." Giovanni answered slowly, his eyes narrowing. "Yes, it has been a long time. Why are you here?"

"I came with a business proposal," the old man smirked devilishly. "One that I believe will be mutually beneficial."

"We are partners for technological research, Klaudius," Giovanni acknowledged, taking a sip of a glass of whiskey from the in-table next to him, "but we want different things. As I recall, you are more interested in your archaeological digs than capturing rare and powerful pokémon. Yet… I do admit that your findings often have information on such creatures."

"And my findings have certainly stumbled upon something that you might find worth your time!" Klaudius laughed, a fiery gleam in his eye showing as he imagined the wealth such artifacts would bring him on the black market. "I need private work, and you are they only one I know who has the money and power to keep my research the deepest of secrets. Provide me with workers from Team Rocket to help me dig, and to keep the rest of the world away from my activities, and I will give you the location of a pokémon so powerful that it can even help you defeat and capture the great mythical pokémon. Supposedly this creature, whatever and wherever it might be, could possibly do battle with the creation pokémon."

"The creation pokémon?" Giovanni raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "Are you crazy, old man? Has spending so much time in the sun addled your wits? Why should I believe such a creature exists?"

"Because I have found several different ruins, each speaking of a legend about a monster that made all others, pokémon and humans, tremble in fear," Klaudius smiled. "Give me what I asked for, and I will make us both extremely powerful men and rich men. I can guarantee that no one else knows of the ruins I found, and there is no known record of the legends that I have documented. We are the first to know about this creature. Giovanni… help me, and the world is yours."

Giovanni leaned back in his chair, and scratched his chin before smiling at his partner. Klaudius may very well had been crazy, but it was clear that he had his uses. And Giovanni, even though his chief desire was to collect rare and powerful pokémon, he seemed like he was the man who could never pass up the opportunity to make himself even more rich and powerful.

"Very well, Klaudius," Giovanni nodded his consent. "You have a year to find whatever it is that you are looking for, and then you will report back to me."

Klaudius smirked and nodded back before walking over to Giovanni and shaking his hand to seal the deal.

…

Celebi's vision had forwarded to nearly a year later and she watched as a young man, perhaps in his late thirties or early fourties, traveling down the path of an island he recently landed on. The island was green and beautiful, bright flowers and trees all around him as a soft breeze played with his black hair. He wore a determined smile, his brown eyes on the road as he heard the sound of his pokéball open up and reveal a strange pokémon that even Celebi was surprised by: a dark purple creature that looked as if it were a cross between an Umbreon and an Espeon. It had all the golden rings of an Umbreon stripping its fur, and the golden ring on its forehead had the purple gem of an Espeon in the center of the ring.

"What did this man do to evolve an Eevee in such a way?" Celebi mused as she watched the man laugh and open his wide to the pokémon who leapt into him.

"Shadeon!" The man laughed as he hugged his friend tightly. "Couldn't spend another moment inside that ball, eh? I could use the company, though. Thank you."

Shadeon cried happily in response, nuzzling into the man. When they did start their journey again, Celebi discovered the man's name was Rob Ketchum. Rob would often talk to Shadeon about his wife, Delia, and his son, Ash, whom he heard had returned to Kanto to enter the Indigo League in about half a year. After two years, one year of Ash attending school in the Alola region, and the other year training with his pokémon, Rob could easily say that his only son was ready. Rob was proud of his son, but he lamented the fact that he was not the mentor and father to Ash he should have been for many years. Still, Ash had been on his own for many years, and Rob knew that he would need to return home to congratulate his son if Ash won the league.

Yet, even Rob knew that becoming a Pokémon Master required just a little more from his son. Ash had the love of his pokémon, his family, his friends, but even Ash had to learn one day that becoming a true Pokémon Master required that he had to put away the towel and focus on being a family with his pokémon. And, of course, being a family with one's pokémon meant that Ash would one day have to start a family of his own. Maybe Ash, if he won at the Indigo League, could open up a gym when a day came that he, too, would give the torch of the "Kanto Champion" to another. Or, so Rob reasoned to Shadeon.

Though, Rob in his musings to Shadeon, pondered the idea that Ash might not stop at the Kanto Championship, and enter the World Championship. With as many leagues as there were, there would be a great tournament that only composed of the trainers that were current or past champions who wished to try. That league, according to Rob, was only held every ten years, and Rob hoped that Ash would never enter that league. It was, of course, likely one of the more dangerous challenges of the world, and something only an extremely brave or foolish person would attempt.

As Shadeon listened to the thoughts of his master and friend, the two heard an explosion to the north. Shadeon looked up at Rob, who simply frowned as he gazed at the smoke coming up from the horizon. Rob knew that the world held many secrets, and the possibly the islands, both above and below the waves, held the most secrets. So many things were lost to the sea, but the sea had a strange way of preserving what it seemed to take all too often.

"Let's check it out," Rob said slowly. "If we need to, we will go back and get off the island."

"Shade…." Shadeon growled in determination and the pair continued forward, cutting through the jungle forest and going uphill. When they reached the top of the hill, overlooking a small valley, they saw the ruins of an ancient civilization and many workers digging through it. At the far end of the ruin, in a cliff, stood a large archway with a tower that out the top of the cliff, clearly the remains of an old citadel. Above the archway, etched into the cliff was what appeared to be a star of eighteen points, much like the medallion that Rob had, though his medallion had a different colored gem at the end of each point and a nineteenth point at the center of the medallion, which was empty.

"I have a bad feeling about this…." Rob frowned.

Shadeon gave Rob his best "you think" look, making Rob chuckle slightly.

"The medallion has been part of the family for generations," Rob said softly. "You already knew that. Why, I don't know, but I do know that tower may have answers."

Rob surveyed the valley of the ruins and his frown deepened.

"Team Rocket," Rob sighed. "Why is it always Team Rocket?!"

He shook his head and looked over to the crouching Shadeon who looked like he was ready to pounce on any Rocket member who came near them. Rob smiled.

"It's probably a good idea that we don't draw attention to ourselves, buddy," Rob warned, scratching the Pokémon's head in the process. "We should wait for the cover of darkness."

And so Celebi watched as the pair waited quietly, keeping a close eye on the movements of the Rockets. When the dark of the night did come, Rob made his move, placing a hand on Shadeon's head.

"Shadow Walk, Shadeon," Rob whispered and Shadeon responded by its eyes glowing a deep purple and darkness wrapped around the two, becoming as if they were invisible. Quietly, they moved, not wanting to raise alarm even if the Rocket grunts could not see them unless light fell directly upon them. And even in such a light, one would only see a faint shadow if he were looking hard enough. Deep they delved into the citadel after they went through the archway, seeing drawings and writings on the wall. Some of the workings on the wall were obviously faded, but others were still intact and mostly viewable.

However, Rob did not take the time to look at such things. Celebi could tell, however, that he would have liked to for the answers on the medallion, but he didn't. Up and up they went, in a seemingly endless winding stair, until they came to the top of the tower and were in a large chamber. This chamber, unlike the rest of the brown brick-stone of the rest of the citadel, was layered in gold and had many perfectly preserved images in it. One image of a circle of twelve Mew around what appeared to be a pokémon egg.

At the end of the chamber was a golden alter with an image of a Mew on top of it, its paws outstretched and holding a grey stone, the size and shape of the gems of Rob's medallion. In front of the alter, however, were two men, one of whom Rob recognized to be Giovanni, and the other Celebi knew to be Giovanni's partner, Klaudius.

"What information do you have for me, Klaudius?" Giovanni asked impatiently. "Where is this pokémon that you promised me?"

"Patience, my friend!" Klaudius laughed. "All will be made clear soon. I have studied the writings and images of this place, and I think the stories here shed some light on what we are looking for. Many times I have seen the name of a pokemon named 'Shin'en.' An interesting name, as it means something like 'The Abyss,' or 'The Devourer.' As for what it is, I do not know. Where it is, well, that is what is interesting."

"Well?" Giovanni growled.

"It seems the creature is locked away," Klaudius explained. "Yet, it also seems that it can be released."

"Where is it locked away and how can it be released?" Giovanni rolled his eyes. "Get to the point, old fool!"

"Blood and death." Klaudius smiled darkly. "The alter requires it. The creature is trapped in a kind of limbo, but the alter is the door to its release. In other ruins that I have seen, such alters were destroyed, but this one remains intact. There must be a sacrifice here."

"So I could kill you now and be done with it?"

"If only all things were so easy!" Klaudius laughed nervously. "No, unfortunately it is not my blood that you need. The blood needs to be… special…. But I am not sure what that even means."

As Giovanni looked at the alter quietly, his eyes flickered to the rock in the hands of the golden Mew. As he reached out to take the stone, it suddenly vanished. However, despite Giovanni's surprise, his questions were answered when Rob appeared before him just a moment later. The stone had caused Shadeon's Night Walk to fail.

"Shadeon, use Psyflame!" Rob cried and Shadeon responded by crying aloud and a purple fire erupted from him like the pulsing ripple of waves that are caused by an earthquake at sea. Yet, Rob called off the attack quickly and ordered Shadeon to run. And long they did run into the dark of night with Team Rocket on their trail. Though, by some better fortune, they were able to stay ahead of Team Rocket until they came to the sea.

Even as they stared out into the waters, Rob frowned looked back at Shadeon. He sighed and took off his belt that held his six pokéballs before taking off his medallion and fitting the stone in the missing spot. He then wrapped the medallion around Shadeon's neck and whispered softly. The necklace began to glow and changed Shadeon back into an Eevee and then immediately into a Vaporeon. After the change, Rob fastened his belt to Vaporeon. The pokémon frowned and cried out in concern and confusion.

"We both know that Team Rocket will follow us all the back to Pallet, buddy," Rob said calmly, though there was a sadness that betrayed his eyes. "You need to go. Go back to Pallet. Delia will know you by the medallion. Protect her and protect my son. That is your job now. Send her, send them both, my love… and my apologies."

Tears filled Vaporeon's eyes, and wanted nothing more than to stay at Rob's side and fight Team Rocket until the bitter end, but the pokémon's loyalty belonged to the Ketchum family. He knew his master would do anything to protect his family. With a sorrowful look and broken heart, Vaporeon fled into the sea while Celebi watched in despair.

For a moment, Rob watched the sea, hoping in vain to see the faintest outline of his old friend. However, despite the tears that threatened to form in his eyes, he turned away from the sea to run back into the jungle. Rob could not allow Team Rocket to follow Vaporeon, Celebi knew this.

Even with the looming darkness of night around Rob, however, it was uncertain how long the human could keep running before Team Rocket found him. There may have been caves for Rob to hide in, but the island was still small enough that Team Rocket could easily break off any chance of Rob finding a boat on the shore to flee in.

"A boat!" Rob groaned in hushed yell at himself. "Rob Ketchum, you fool!"

Exploring Rob's mind, Celebi saw clearly a red boat that Rob often used during his journeys through the islands of this part of the world. However, based on simple knowledge of the stars, Celebi knew that the boat that Rob thought about was on the northern shore and Rob was south.

" _Perhaps the cover of darkness was not wise,"_ Celebi lamented.

Celebi watched Rob in thought as he hid from Team Rocket throughout the night. Even in the day, the human managed to elude the villains for a few hours, but he was eventually found and captured. Not having any pokémon to defend himself with, Rob could only defend himself with tree branches laying around. Of course, such a strategy could not last long, but he held out as long as he could to give Vaporeon as great a head start as possible. After being captured and knocked unconscious, Rob woke to find himself in the golden room he had been in many hours before, hooked to the wall by strange, ball-like restraints.

"Ah, you are awake!" Klaudius exclaimed in dark mirth. "I have to admit, you gave us quite the chase, but no one is outside of the reach of Team Rocket. Who are you?"

Rob did not answer, but rather spat at the feet of the lead scientist. Klaudius, looking angrily at Rob, chuckled darkly before taking a remote with a single red button from his coat pocket. Pressing down on the button, Rob felt a surge of electricity flow through, causing him to scream in pain and agony.

"His name is Ketchum," Giovanni answered the scientist as he stepped out of the shadows. "He and I have met before."

Rob looked at Giovanni with anger, but the well-dressed Rocket boss merely smirked.

"I am pleased to see you, Rob," Giovanni said with a chuckle while reaching inside his suit jacket and taking out a cigar. Pausing to light it, the heavy smoke filled the air of the room. When he finished, his malicious eyes turned back to Rob's. "We have a score to settle, you and I. But first, where is the stone you stole from this room and why was it so important to you?"

Again Rob did not answer, and again Celebi watched in silent horror as Klaudius electrocuted the human again after Giovanni nodded to the mad scientist. She saw the light of bolts flash in Giovanni's eyes as he grinned around the cigar in his mouth. Mixed with the smell of tobacco was the scent of Rob's flesh slightly burnt from what he was subjected to.

"It matters not what was stolen, I think," Klaudius answered Giovanni after he stopped the electrocution. "I think this man is who we need."

"Explain," Giovanni demanded.

"I have had many workers try to pull that stone from the statue," Klaudius said, "but all of them failed. Perhaps the fact that this man was able to remove the stone means that he is the special blood we need to release the creature."

"Very well," Giovanni nodded and looked to Rob. "Make it so. It is a pity, Ketchum. I had hoped to destroy you and your pokémon, but I suppose simply killing you will give me some pleasure."

"Whatever you hope to do, Giovanni, it won't work!" Rob finally and painfully spoke through gritted teeth. "The world will _never_ belong to you!"

"That's where you're wrong, Ketchum," Giovanni laughed. "I will have everything I want. That includes what you stole from me, and that medallion of yours!"

Even as Giovanni spoke, Klaudius took another remote that was used to detach the ball restraints from the wall. Slowly Rob hovered to the large, golden altar at the end of room. Steps ascended to it like each inch closer to the altar table was an inch closer to glory that Giovanni sought. When Rob stopped on top of the altar, Klaudius provided a long, curved dagger that had a black hilt with gold vines around the hilt. It was ornamented with gems that were akin to the gems on Rob's medallion, but his heart and mind told Celebi that the gems were not the gems of his medallion. Still, the dagger was clearly very old and had probably laid untouched like the rest of the room for a long time. How long, however, was an answer Celebi could not answer.

In despair, she watched as Giovanni ascended the stairs and approached Rob. A dark smirk drew on his face as the gripped the hilt of the dagger tighter. Stopping just mere inches from Rob, however, Giovanni could not help but stare into the eyes of the human he knew and called "enemy" for but a moment.

"Good bye, Ketchum," Giovanni said with a mocking scoff. "I will enjoy Delia even more knowing that I took your life."

And the moment after Giovanni's words left his lips, he plunged the dagger into Rob's heart. Rob let out a deafening scream of pain as Celebi could feel herself being pulled out of her vision and back to the present. However, even before she retreated into time, the last thing she saw was a black vortex appear behind and slightly above the altar. And in the vortex was a pair of glowing red eyes that seemed to see her before she vanished. When Celebi had finally come out of her vision, two questions had wandered through her mind: where was the medallion, and where was Ash Ketchum?

 **Hey, everyone! Thank you for reading. I may post slowly because of work and school, but I will try to update when I can. As always, please review! All comments, criticisms, advice, and everything else are greatly appreciated. Heck, I would enjoy reading theories on where the story could possibly go! Happy readings and be safe out there! Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 2

Pokemon: The Lords of the Elements

 **Author's Note: Considering the length of time that Ash has spent in each of his adventures, which one could hypothetically assume is a year (or half a year for minor tournaments) for each challenge that Ash has gone through, (and, yes, I am including the Alola region,) we can safely assume that Ash is 20 after completing his second attempt at the Indigo league. The ages of Ash's friends I am definitely planning on incorporating into the story would probably look something like this:**

 **Ash: 20**

 **Misty: 20**

 **Serena: 20**

 **Brock: 25**

 **Characters I might incorporate but still haven't made up my mind on would look like this:**

 **May: 17**

 **Dawn: 16 (Yes, I did my homework.)**

 **Gary: 20**

 **And more, but I haven't decided on who just yet.**

 **If you would like to see certain characters come into play, say so in the reviews. There may be someone I overlooked who would be vital to the story!**

Chapter 2

A Hero's Return

 _(A little over half a year since the events in Celebi's vision….)_

The morning sun peaked over the horizon as Ash Ketchum gazed over the valley that Pallet Town was nestled in. He smiled widely. Despite being back in Kanto for a little over six months, he had chosen not to go back home until he had won the league. He had to prove himself, prove that he had grown into the man that he worked so hard to be. Home would be a reward for all of his efforts, and that reward was to finally rest. While working to be a Pokémon Master, even though being a Pokémon Master required constant work, it was good to take a break every now and again.

However, Ash could now take a different kind of rest: a rest of triumph. Winning the Indigo League made him a Pokémon Master, and even though that meant he had to work harder than ever to keep the title, he could at least stay home while he trained. Well, closer to home, at any rate. He wanted to build a cottage in the mountains where he could always work his hardest. However, a good son should at least visit his mother on occasion. Yet, even as he was about to start sprinting downhill to home, he heard an agitated groan. He looked back curiously to see his friends behind him.

"Ash, did you have to drag us out of bed before dawn?" Misty asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes. "We have all the time in the world now!"

Ash smiled at the redhead. She had grown a lot since Ash saw her last after he traveled home from the Hoenn region about seven years ago. Of course, seven years ago she still looked more tomboyish. Her features were certainly becoming more pronounced in her developing body then, but she had truly become the beautiful water flower now that Ash had rarely had a chance to see when they were kids.

She let her hair grow out to her just below her shoulder blades, and it developed natural, wavy curls in length. It reminded Ash much of how she looked like when she dressed up as a mermaid for her sisters' play nine years ago. Her body had also become more curved, giving off a feminine look that both contradicted her tomboyish appearance and also complimented and accented her beauty to point that it was clear that she was very much indeed the "most beautiful of the Sensational Sisters," as she liked to claim for years despite being called the "runt" by her sisters. Her sea green eyes sparkled in the sunlight when she finished rubbing them, and Ash could truly believe that gazing into her eyes was like looking at the sea from atop a mountain. Her eyes spoke wonders.

"Why are you staring at me?" Mistry asked sleepily, blinking slowly.

"Uhm… nothing," Ash blushed slightly, unaware he was staring and trying to come up with an excuse. "I… I just thought I saw a Weedle in your hair."

"WHAT?!" Misty shrieked and ran around in circles, shaking her head and wildly running her hands through her hair. "Get it out! GET IT OUT!"

Ash laughed wildly as Misty slowly began to realize that Ash was messing with her. Her face grew red as her eyes showed daggers. She was ready to pounce on Ash when she suddenly felt a couple hands hold her back.

"Hey, easy!" A young man said in alarm, trying to keep Ash from being mauled by the now gorgeous fiery redhead.

"Why on earth are you taking his side, Brock?!" Misty asked the young man of darker skin. Little about Brock had changed, other than growing taller and slightly more muscular. Yet, he was still the nurturer of the group. Brock had graduated college and earned his degree to practice as a Pokémon Doctor while Ash continued his travels. Though, in truth, he still had some obligations to the Pewter City gym when he finally came back to Kanto.

"I'm not taking sides, Misty," Brock said diplomatically. "I'm just trying to get you out of becoming the defendant of Ash's murder trial."

Ash smiled nervously as Misty shot eye daggers at her two friends. However, Misty finally relented her anger after a few short moments of being in Brock's grip. She took a deep breath and sighed, nodding calmly to Brock so he could let her go.

"That's the last time I go to visit and root for you at a Pokémon League," Misty grumbled.

"But, Mist," Ash smiled playfully, "how can I win if you aren't there to tell me everything I am doing wrong?"

Misty looked at Ash and smiled softly.

"True," Misty giggled. "You wouldn't be anywhere without me!"

The three laughed together as another girl approached them with Ash's Pikachu in her arms. She was also a gorgeous young woman with honey blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. Her curves were more defined than Misty's, and her style was certainly more feminine, but she and Misty were just alike in the mystery of their beauty. Her hair, too, was shoulder blade length, but she grew it back out slightly from when she cut it almost three years ago down to her shoulders. Like Misty's, her hair was wavy, but seemed to become more straight as it grew while Misty's would become curlier.

"Is everyone alright?" She asked in concern. "I heard screaming!"

"We're fine, Serena," Misty smiled. "Ash was just being a pain."

Serena sighed in relief at the good news. She had Ash had traveled together for the past three years ever since she had found him after a news report in the Kalos region. She had had a crush on Ash for years, and her feelings for him deepened as they traveled together. Though they had shared many romantic moments together, Ash was painfully oblivious to the fact that Serena was in love with him. And even when she tried to move away from her feelings towards him, he would always somehow wind up making her fall in love with him all over again, and it was always deeper.

Serena, though, did feel some jealousy towards Misty. Misty was beautiful, and only a fool would deny it. There were times when Ash and Misty seemed like they had feelings for each other, but both seemed to ignore the issue entirely. Yet, at the same time, Serena did not feel the same kind of jealousy towards Misty that she felt towards someone like Miette. Miette just wanted Ash because Serena wanted him. But Serena could tell Misty cared for Ash the same way she did. Misty and Serena cared for the Ash that was always going to love his pokémon and was never going to give up, even if that meant killing himself in the process.

How was Serena sure that Misty loved Ash? She wasn't entirely, though Serena was sure she could see a deeper connection between Ash and Misty whenever their eyes met. It was the same look that Ash and Serena had whenever his eyes captured hers. The look that let Serena know Ash was about to do something brave and absolutely idiotic. That look that let her know that he would do anything and everything to protect her.

"Serena?" Ash's voice called, bringing her out of her thoughts. The blonde blushed as she looked into Ash's eyes. He grinned at her excitedly. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I am," Serena nodded as she blushed more. "How much further until we reach Pallet?"

"Downhill!" Ash cried enthusiastically, ready to take a break. "Just a couple more miles left to go!"

Pikachu cried happily as Ash started to sprint for home and jumped out of Serena's arms and chasing his master down the hill. The girls and Brock shared exhausted looks before chasing Ash themselves.

 _"Going to be home! Going to be home!"_ Ash thought excitedly and laughed to himself as he would look down to see Pikachu running beside him. Foot by foot, step by step, he drew closer to Pallet and the houses grew bigger with the closing distance. Yet, when Ash came crashing through the door and shouted to his mom that he was finally back home, he was met instead by an Eevee sitting at the feet of his mother and staring up at Delia's face. Delia, instead of greeting her son, sat in silence with her head bowed, staring at a golden medallion, and tears clearly on her cheeks as she shook quietly.

"Mom?" Ash frowned when he saw his mother's state and took a closer step to her. "Mom, what's wrong? Whose Eevee is this?"

Delia looked up at her son as her hands tightened around the medallion. She opened her mouth to speak but burst into tears again. Eevee then turned his head, taking first notice to the young trainer and stood up, a look of anger on its face.

"Vee!" Eevee barked at Ash, taking up a protective stance in front of Delia and causing Pikachu to take up a protective stance in front of Ash as well.

"No, Eevee, stop!" Delia cried. "This is Ash! Rob's son!"

Eevee looked up at Ash and relaxed slightly before sitting at Delia's feet again. Delia sighed as she watched the poor Eevee, knowing it would do anything to protect her. She picked Eevee up and let him rest on her lap, but the pokémon was too alert to actually relax on Delia. She petted him softly, wishing he could relax to her.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Ash asked with a frown as he picked up Pikachu. "Why was this Eevee about to attack me?"

"He doesn't really know who you are, Ash," Delia answered quietly. "Your father left too early for any of his pokémon to know who you are. But they know of you…."

"This Eevee is dad's?" Ash asked with wide eyes. "Well, then where is dad? Is he here?!"

"No, sweetheart," Delia said slowly, shaking her head. "Eevee came alone with your father's pokéballs and his medallion. Your father is…."

She choked on her coming tears, unable and unwilling to finish what she was obviously going to say. Ash filled in the blank and watched his mom in shock and despair as his friends showed up behind the door. Eevee, however, did not react hostilely to the others, smelling Ash's scent on them.

"Ash?" Serena asked in worry when she saw the tension in the room, causing Ash to look back to his friends with a deep sadness in his eyes.

"My dad is dead," he said slowly, but plainly.

 **Hey, everyone! Sorry if this chapter may have seemed a little shorter. Like I said earlier, I did some rewriting. With school, I only find time to write when I have nothing going on. Hopefully I will be able to upload a new chapter soon. Next chapter I hope to put in some more backstory and the start of Ash's next journey. As I said earlier, please give your thoughts on character inclusion. If you are hoping that I will get to Eevee's connection with the medallion soon, though, then you will need to wait a bit longer. Heh. In any regard, though, please review! Thanks for reading! See you next time!**


	4. Chapter 3

Pokemon: Lord of the Elements

 **Hey, everyone! As I said earlier, this would be my newer chapter. I had originally started working on it weeks ago, but my computer was destroyed so I had to start this chapter from scratch. In any regard, I hope you enjoyed the updated other three chapters and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well! Thank you for you reviews, and please keep reviewing! Enjoy!**

Chapter 3

The Memories of a Troubled Mind

Brock set a cup of tea in front of Delia as she and all the others sat quietly and patiently on couches in the living room, waiting for Brock to sit down with them. Delia looked at the cup in a grave silence as the others watched her. Serena's eyes had carefully tread between Delia and Ash. The mother and son pair sat in dead silence, both unable or unwilling to break the silence. However, Serena ultimately laid her eyes on Ash, the boy-grown-man she admired and had come love, though fear gripped her heart of ever admitting that truth. But, she still knew in her heart that she loved him. She loved him for his courage, his strength, his kindness, his love for his pokémon, and his ability and desire to never give up.

He was her source of inspiration. His strength had given her the strength to carry on. Perhaps it was why every time she thought she would forget about her feelings for Ash, he would always somehow make her fall for him all over again and deeper. But now, after traveling with him for so long, she could no longer deny her feelings or try to push them away. She was in love with Ash Ketchum, but she couldn't tell him that. She valued their friendship too much to gamble it on the possibility that they might not be together. So, she waited, hoping that he would notice her as a woman. There were moments when she thought she could make a move or when she thought he had noticed her, but if he did, he didn't show it. Yet, there were moments in which she caught him staring at her. It always made them both turn away and blush, though neither of them caught the other in that act.

So Serena remained hopeful that Ash would notice her and love her as she loved him. However, at that moment, all she was truly concerned with was Ash's wellbeing. Seeing the pain in his eyes broke her heart and urged her to do everything she could to help him to smile again. Yet, Serena also saw a sad beauty in Ash. His pain, as painful as it was for her to see him in such a way, reminded her that Ash Ketchum was passionate for those he cared for and for his dreams. There was a deep love in Ash Serena only tasted as one of his friends. The taste was but a drop of the fountain of that deep love, but that single drop was enough to cause her to follow Ash wherever he might lead.

Slowly, Serena stood up and walked a few short steps to where Ash as sitting. Sitting next to him, she placed a comforting hand on Ash's shoulder. Ash stirred slightly and looked over to the hand before his eyes met Serena's. Serena gave him a small smile of condolence and Ash returned the sad smile. He reached with opposite hand and softly clasped her hand on his shoulder in his, causing her to blush.

Misty watched the pair in slight jealousy, but did not have much time to think about it as Brock had come back from the kitchen and sat next to her. There was another long moment of silence until Misty decided to break it.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Mrs. Ketchum," Misty said softly to the woman she had long looked up to as a mother figure. Misty, too, had feelings for Ash, but she wrestled more with her feelings than Serena did. She cared deeply for Ash, but she was never sure how deeply. All she knew for certain was that she frequently alternated between loving him and hating him. It drove her crazy how one guy could make her feel so many emotions at once, but she knew why he could because Misty considered Ash Ketchum her best friend in all the world. Above all, Ash drove Misty crazy with worry.

Much like Delia, Misty had the fear that Ash would run off one day and never come back. Every time he came back home, she wanted to hit him and yell at him for not letting her know every now and then that he was okay. However, she also wanted him to hold her every time he came home and promise her that it was the last time he would run off into the unknown. But, Misty knew that would never happen. Ash was born for adventure. But now that scared Misty more than ever. Ash's loss of his father scared her that she may lose Ash one day, too. However, she knew she couldn't stop Ash from exploring the wide world and searching for pokémon. His determination drew her to him like a moth to the flame.

"Thank you, dear," Delia said to the redhead. "I'm sorry you have to see me this way. And I'm sorry that this sad news had to ruin what should have been a special day for you, Ash."

Ash looked up at his mother and frowned slightly. He saw the pain and tears in her eyes that she usually bore whenever he was about to leave again. She missed her son dearly and wished she could spend more time with him. She watched him grow in every Pokémon League challenge he entered, but she missed him actually growing up. And now he was a man who looked so much like his father did.

"Mom, winning a League isn't anywhere as important as this," Ash said softly. "Dad was family, a person who can't be replaced. A trophy is… just a trophy. It means nothing if you don't have the people you care for."

Delia smiled weakly at her only son. There was so much of his father's wisdom in him, even if he was as dumb as a box of rocks when it came to the concept of romance. Rob would have been proud of Ash and happy to know that Ash had grown up so well. Her gaze then turned from her son to the medallion that was still in her hands. The gems did not give off the soft glow they normally would when around Rob or a pokémon. They simply glimmered and shone in the light. She then looked over near the front door, where Eevee slept a few feet from the door. Rob's old friend was ever on a constant watch, even in sleep, Eevee did not let down his guard. His ears turned every which way, allowing Delia to know that Eevee was in a light sleep and ready to strike anyone that threatened his master's wife. Looking back to her son, she gave Ash the medallion.

"What is this?" Ash asked curiously, taking the medallion into his hands.

"It used to belong to your father," Delia answered plainly.

"Dad was into jewelry?" Ash asked again, near causing Delia to laugh at her son's dorkiness.

"No sweetheart," Delia smiled softly at Ash. "Your father told me once that it belonged to the Ketchum family. That it was passed down between father and son for generations. I asked him how long the family had it, and he would simply shrug and tell me that the Ketchums 'always had it.' I know little about it or where it came from, as does everyone else who has seen it."

"So why aren't you going to keep it, mom?"

"It belongs to you, Ash," Delia said softly. "It's an heirloom, and I know you father would have given it straight to you. Though… I wouldn't exact say that I am happy about you having it."

"Why?" Ash frowned. "What's wrong?"

"That medallion is…." Delia started with a sigh. "I'm not sure how to explain it other than I have seen strange things happen when it is near."

"I don't understand," Ash said slowly, trying to search his mother's eyes for answers.

"I don't expect you to understand," Delia answered. "I hoped that Rob would explain more to you when he would give it to you, but he didn't understand it either. He knew more about it than I did, but that knowledge was extremely little, and he kept it secret from me. Except once…."

"Mom?" Ash asked in concern when she fell silent again for a few moments. As young and fit as Delia Ketchum was, the new adults could see that she was tired. She had suffered much grief from her worry over her son and her late husband.

"It was years ago, Ash," she said finally, as if to the start of a confession to a dark deed she need atonement for. She looked into the eyes of her son with uncertainty and fear. "As you know, your father and I, like you, were born here in Pallet Town. Your father was always so eager and impatient as a child, ready to start a journey with his first pokémon at his side. He would do first and ask questions later, always being on the run when there was adventure afoot."

"Sounds like someone we know," Misty smirked playfully at Ash, who shot her a mock look of annoyance.

"Yes," Delia giggled softly and let out a sigh with a sad smile painted on her face. "Ash is much like his father. Though, Rob used to make a game out of defying death. Ash may put himself in danger consistently, but having others to travel to with has made Ash consider their lives and protect them. Rob used to say: 'when you travel alone, the lives of your pokémon are all that matters to you.' He was always alone in his journeys, though I never understood why. However, my heart tells me that his choice to travel alone had something to do with his medallion.

The day Rob received that medallion was the day he received his first pokémon. Now, Rob and I were the same age, but I did not go as he did. I wanted to go, though. When Rob and I were kids, before he left for his journey, we would often go into the woods in search of pokémon. I loved them as much as he did. Being as energetic and mischievous as he was, though, Rob would torment me. There were times he was nice, but he was always mean in playful way as a boy. Being a young girl myself, I didn't really understand the difference in being mean and playful.

I thought Rob hated me, so I tried staying away from him. However, since he and I were often paired to play together by our own parents, I didn't really have a choice in the matter. He had a habit of trying to make himself the best at everything he could. Naturally, I tried to be rival to him and top him whenever I could. We would fight constantly as kids, yelling constantly. Thankfully we never resorted to physical violence, or we may never have had anymore dealings with each other. Though, Rob would always protect me against bullies. In that sense, we remained rivals, always trying to outdo each other.

When I learned he wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer, I naturally wanted to become one myself. However, before my tenth birthday, my mother had an accident. Naturally, I couldn't let her take care of the diner by herself, so I stayed with her. Rob and I said our goodbyes and he left. It was many years before I saw him again, though he wrote me email letters from time to time. His last letter he wrote me during our childhood was when I turned thirteen, the year I started school in Viridian City. After that, the letters stopped. I thought Rob had forgotten about me. I tried get word about him, but he simply vanished. No one had heard from or about him for months. Even his parents had lost contact with him a year before his final letter to me. Strangely, his father was not worried about it.

'The boy is finding himself,' he said to Rob's worried mother. A month later, he disappeared too. I don't know how long I cried for Rob, wishing for a sign that he was alright. I thought that my young childhood hatred of him for messing with me led to his possible death. I wished I could take it back and be a friend to him instead of never wanting to be around him. The year passed, and I never heard from Rob, and another. When I turned fifteen, I started to forget about him, leaving my mourning in the past. That was when I met Giovanni.

Now, Ash, please understand, I was young and foolish. There was resentment in heart. Resentment for my mother, who I blamed for not being able to explore the world, there was resentment against Rob, who I thought had abandoned me, and I had resentment for my own life in general. I was angry, and Giovanni was a bad boy I was instantly attracted to. His rebellious nature brought out a dark side in me I never thought I had. And since Giovanni was older than me, as well as rich, I thought I could be his to get away from my life.

I had soon found out that he had pokémon, himself, and that he used those pokémon to beat up others and take money from them. I didn't care, he used that money to buy me anything I wanted. In fact, I am ashamed to say, it was a huge turn on for me when he would do that. For two years, I was a part of Giovanni's gang and did everything he asked of me. I also learned of his affiliation to Team Rocket through his mother. She was the leader. My third year of being with him, and final year of school, I had learned that Giovanni committed a murder. While I reveled in his chaos, I had drawn the line at murder. I wanted to leave him at that moment, but I was afraid that Giovanni might hurt me if I tried. He had grown too powerful and too unpredictable for me to leave.

As I gave up hope that I would able to escape from Giovanni, that was when Rob had appeared in Viridian City. It was quite by accident, as I recall. I went out to do my morning run when I ran into him. Well, I actually ran into his Eevee, who seemed overjoyed to see me. At first, I didn't know what was going on, but Rob appeared soon after with that boyish smirk on his face. It had been so many years since I had seen him that I almost completely forgotten what he looked like. It was the fire in his eyes that reminded me of the boy that I knew all those years ago. He had grown well into a man, but he seemed older in his eyes, stricken with cares that I could not begin to guess. But I knew that he was tired, and he was likely more tired than I guessed.

I took him and Eevee to a spot in the Viridian park where I would often go to be alone when I wanted to think. Being mixed up with Giovanni, I spent more time thinking than anything else. I asked Rob where had gone for all of those years and why he stopped talking to everyone, but he shrugged and told me that it was 'better if I didn't know.' As much as I wanted to press him further on the subject, I knew he wouldn't tell me. Even in his old letters to me, he had become vague and secretive. However, hearing his voice instead of simply reading a letter that held no real tone, I had the sense that he was trying to protect me. From what, I could not say, but there was far off look in the stare he gave to the horizon. That was when I noticed his medallion again. How he clung to it as if there were a shield against the seeming nothingness that he stared into!

We talked for a while, though it always seemed I told him of my life more than he told me about his. Though, I couldn't tell him about Giovanni and my part in his misdeeds. However, I began to see a light at the end of my dark tunnel when Rob told me that he was planning on staying in Pallet for a while to rest. He needed a break, or so he told me. He seemed even more tired when he admitted to the desire. I knew that when he had his rest, he would be better to help me, but I had to take my time and get reacquainted with him.

Over the months, I did just that. He came to visit me often since I was still in school, but he would almost always leave as quickly as he came, claiming that he was looking for something. I never truly got an answer about what, but he had become paranoid about the subject and always acting as if saying anything would be dangerous. I remember how cut off he would become in his answers about where he would go or about the fact that his own father disappeared shortly after he lost contact with everyone.

'He had his reasons for leaving,' Rob would tell me whenever I asked and wouldn't say anything more, always having a far off stare in his eye. His being closed off to me made me wonder if he suspected me. It was an irrational fear; how could he have known about what I had done? However, that fear made me confess to him everything that happened before I was emotionally ready to. To my surprise, Rob was understanding. He had sworn to help me and get me back to Pallet. According to him, Pallet Town was heavily watched and secretly guarded by members of the Pokémon League because of Professor Oak's work. How he came by such knowledge, I do not know, but I did wonder if he had become a member.

Now, Ash, you need to understand that what I am about to tell you… is strange. So strange that I thought I was dreaming. Part of me wishes it were a dream, because what happened seemed like a nightmare. Maybe if it were a dream, your father would still be here.

Giovanni lived alone in a mansion on a high hill that happened to overlook the whole of Viridian City to the west. You have seen that mountain range before during your visits to the Indigo Plateau. By his mother's design, since she was the leader of Team Rocket at the time, Giovanni had his own personal guard. Giovanni himself hadn't joined Team Rocket himself just yet, but I remember that he had his Rocket guards hurt members of his gang that displeased him. There weren't many, ten as I recall, but enough to make sure the mansion was well protected.

Rob had requested that I meet him at Viridian's southern entrance in an email he sent me a few days before coming up from Pallet to get me. However, Giovanni got word the day I was supposed to leave that I was trying to escape him and he took me to his mansion. Rob was brave and foolish enough to charge into Giovanni's estate headfirst. I don't know the details, but Rob somehow was able to defeat most of the guards and ran straight into the mansion to save me. But Giovanni was ruthless, fleeing the mansion with me and two of his most loyal guards. He tried destroying the mansion with Rob inside. With the aid of his guards and their pokémon, Giovanni burned down the building while I screamed in terror. But, as I watched the mansion burn down and collapse on itself, Rob stepped out of the flames… and so did a Flareon.

We all watched Rob in amazement and wonder, I in joy and shock, the guards in fear, and Giovanni in bewilderment. His face was downcast when he stepped out of the flames, but when he looked up, his eyes were filled with a terrible rage that I have only seen once. He spoke to Flareon strangely, speaking in a language I had never heard before, and the glowing rage that was in his eyes immediately glowed in Flareon's eyes as well. Flareon then glowed a fiery red and unleashed fire blast that sent Giovanni and his grunts down the hill and into the forest bellow. I was surprised that Rob did not kill them with the power that Flareon displayed, but I suppose that his heart did not compel him to take the life of Giovanni.

Rob took my hand after he sent Giovanni and his guard flying, and we ran south as fast as we could, dodging the main road at all costs. However, Rob was sure that Giovanni might have contacted his mother. If that was the case, then it was possible that Team Rocket was looking for the both of us. On the main road, it would have taken us two or three days to get to Pallet, and twice that through the mountains! We had to get back to Pallet Town as fast as we could. The only other way back to Pallet was the river, but we did not have boat. However, Rob looked at me and grabbed my hands. His eyes pierced mine, but there was a little uncertainty behind them.

'Do you trust me?' he asked calmly. I couldn't help but nod. My life was in his hands, but small glimmer of unease in his eyes lowered my confidence that we had a way to get to Pallet without the main road. He looked at me with nervousness and knelt beside his Flareon. Touching his medallion to Flareon, two of the medallion's gems glowed brightly and Flareon devolved back into Eevee and then evolved into Vaporeon. I couldn't help but sound my astonishment. I wanted to ask him so much, but he told me that we didn't have time for questions. Vaporeon jumped into the river and Rob took my hand. Needless to say, I thought he was mad, as he was walking into the river and dragging me after him. I held my breath before I was pulled under the water and I closed my eyes. However, I heard Rob laughing. Looking at him, I say his blue gem on the medallion glowing. He told me to breathe and that as long as I was holding his hand, I was safe.

Needless to say, I was shocked. Still, he would not answer my questions. It was beautiful, Ash, being able to see everything under the water of the river. All the plants, all the pokémon that swam, all the treasures people lost while fishing… it was magical. I can't begin to tell you how much I dreamed of walking in ocean deeps with Rob after that. By the end of the day, though, we found ourselves back in Pallet. There wasn't much else to tell about that, though. Rob told me nothing of the medallion except that it was extremely old and that Ketchums have always had it. Soon after I turned eighteen, Rob and I got married. And then, a little less than a year later, you were born, Ash. Rob was there for your birth, and was there for you for a couple years, but he got a letter from your grandfather, who we had not heard from since his disappearance, and Rob left. Thankfully, I was not completely alone. The Oaks had become fast friends of ours, so I thankfully had help with you whenever I needed to work in the diner.

I never did see your father again, though he wrote from time to time. It used to be once a month that he wrote, but it steadily turned to once a year. After you left for your own pokémon journey, I received one last letter from your father, stating that he was doing research and that he did not know when we would hear from him again. He told me that he was proud of you and that he would root for you. I never did hear from your father again…. And then Eevee came with the medallion, and I just knew. Your father wanted you to have that medallion, Ash. I'm not sure if trouble and mystery will follow you like it did your father and grandfather, but I do admit that I feel a little better about your safety with it around your neck. I…. I'm so sorry, Ash."

And with that, Delia Ketchum finished her long story, the memories of the love of her life coursing through her mind, and she fell into silence again before placing the medallion in Ash's hands. When it was in his hands, she couldn't help but think about how much like Rob Ash looked, and started to sob once again. Ash and his friends sat in silence, trying to process the information. The girls, with Delia, cried softly, Brock stared at the floor, trying to make sense of the strange story he heard, and Ash simply looked at the medallion in his hands. Tears, too, filled Ash's eyes.

 **Hey, guys! Thanks for reading. As I said before, I rewrote the other chapters, so you have a longer story to read! With school, I won't have as much time to write as I would like, but I will try to update when I can. Anyway, thank you so much for reading and please leave your reviews. Be safe our there!**


	5. Chapter 4

Pokemon: The Lord of the Elements

 **Hey, guys! Thanks for reading. Please leave your reviews. I always love feedback. Enjoy the story!**

Chapter 4

Whispers in the Dark

The rest of the sad day moved slowly. Misty and Serena spent most of their time trying to comfort the fragile Delia Ketchum while Ash sat in a lonely and quiet state. He wanted to go to his room and be alone, but he did not leave the living room for the sake of his mother. Brock would, at times, sit across from Ash, silently hoping that Ash would talk to him, but would go to the kitchen to help Mr. Mime after vain attempts to talk to his friend. The group inside the house would have starved that day otherwise.

Serena, at times, would look to Ash, worry filling her mind for the man she had come to care so deeply for. Ash began to, it seemed, have far off looks in his eyes, as if he himself were trying to look into a realm that beyond their own in hopes to find his father and bring him back to the family. However, before Serena could make a move, Misty immediately stood up and walked over to Ash, sitting next to him. Serena blushed slightly in jealousy. However, Delia, who still had tears in her eyes, placed a hand on Serena's right kneecap. Serena gazed at the hand in surprise for a moment before looking up to see Delia looking at her. Delia offered a sad smile to Serena and gave a soft nod, causing Serena to blush more at the fact that Delia had noticed Serena's crush on her son.

"It is okay, dear," Delia said softly, the tears slowing down but still evident in her eyes before looking over to Misty, who was talking quietly to Ash. "I, too, had often wondered about Rob in my youth. How and where he was. How his pokémon were doing. If he made friends. If he found something more…. I was foolish to forget about him and go after a man as vile as Giovanni. But, if I hadn't met Giovanni, I wouldn't have fallen in love with Rob. That gives me some comfort for the evil that followed me. I love Misty with all my heart. She has protected my Ash time and again…. But so have you. It is clear you love him, and whether that love is returned or not, I hope that I get to know you as I have come to know Misty. As far as either of you are concerned, Ash would be lucky to be given such strong and caring hearts…."

"D-does Misty love him?" Serena asked quietly, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

"She certainly cares for him," Delia responded, "but she struggles with her feelings. I can tell she goes between loving him and hating him consistently, but I am guessing you struggle with your feelings too."

"I-I do?" Serena blushed deeply as she looked over to the older woman.

"You do," Delia simply nodded, keeping her eyes on her son. "From the way you look at him, it is clear you have tried to let go, but something in your heart just stops you. You want to tell him your heart, but your mind stops you because of fear."

Serena sat on the couch quietly, looking to the floor to collect her thoughts. Delia was right, but she certainly didn't know the length or degree of that truth. Still, Serena's mind wandered. How many times had she tried to give up because Ash was too oblivious to notice her, only for him to drag her back to him by his courageous attitude and kind heart? How many times did she say to herself that she would never see her summer camp hero again before he appeared in her life all over again atop the Prism Tower in Lumiose City?

"How do you know that?" Serena asked finally after a long pause.

"A mother knows," Delia shrugged. "I am not sure how we do it, but just know what happens around our children then our children do. But, I also know because I was you. I have seen my own face in the mirror enough to know face I make when I think of Rob. Worry mixed with longing. I won't tell you to give up hope, but neither will I encourage your desires to be with him. All I can tell you is that you should follow your heart. It knows when to go forward and when to stop."

Serena looked back to Delia, taking her words to heart. She knew she wanted more than anything to tell Ash her feelings, and she also knew she could be torn apart from her crush at any time. There was always such a thing as "too late" with Ash when it came to his travels, and words unspoken were regrets that Serena did not want to weigh down her heart.

"Thank you, Mrs. Ketchum," Serena said softly. "I will think about what you said."

"You're welcome, dear," Delia answered and stood up. While the weight of Rob's end was heavy on her heart, she would not let despair to overcome her. "I think I will help Brock and Mimey in the kitchen. Thank you for being here for me, Serena."

Serena offered Delia a small, weak smile, and nodded to her. Serena looked back over to Misty and Ash as Delia went to the kitchen. Ash still looked at the floor, so Serena had guessed that Misty was having as much success as Brock did in talking with Ash. However, Ash finally lifted his face and his eyes met Misty's. Though Serena wasn't sure what brought Ash back to the world, it was clear that Misty truly had a deep connection with Ash.

"I'm sorry, Misty," Ash said, loudly enough for Serena to hear. "I am glad you want to help, but no one can help me. For as long as I have remembered, I wanted to win a League to become a Pokémon Master. And I wanted to become a Master because I wanted dad to come home. Every time I lost a League, I failed myself, I failed Professor Oak, I failed my parents, and, most importantly I failed my pokémon. Now I finally won a League and my dad is dead. I failed him, Mist, and I never got to say goodbye to him."

Tears filled Ash's eyes and he immediately got up and quickly ascended the stairs to his bedroom.

"Ash!" Misty called out to him in concern, but flinched when she heard the door slam shut. Serena frowned slightly at Misty and got up to put a comforting hand on the redhead's shoulder.

"He needs to be alone," Serena said softly, offering Misty a weak smile. "He will be ready to face us when he is ready."

"Pika," Pikachu mumbled sadly, but gave a sad smile to Misty and Serena when Misty picked him up.

"She's right, Pikachu," Misty answered softly. "The best we can do is wait. He will be back down."

"Pi…," Pikachu said and lowered his head, his own mind deeply on his master and best friend.

As the ladies sat in silence, occasionally speaking to make awkward attempts to get to know each other, Ash laid on his bed in his room, looking at the medallion that his father had left for him. Time seemed to act strangely around him. A few seconds felt like an hour, and an hour like that of a few seconds. The medallion's gems sparkled in the sunlight that came in the bedroom from his window, glittering as a rainbow after a fierce storm. As he gazed at the medallion, he felt sleep start to find him, and a soft melody played in his mind. The melody was akin to Lugia's Song, in terms of the peace that it brought to his pained mind, but it seemed far older and less powerful than the version that he heard in the Orange Islands when he helped to stop the world from ending, as if the melody had yet to grow in power and majesty to save the world. Slowly, he let his heavy eyes close and draw him to a deep sleep.

The sleep, however, though deep, was restless and filled with a strange dream. He found himself in a hall of gold filled with sunlight and crystals that cast rainbows to arch the sunlit ceiling. The light was, at first, blinding, though his eyes eventually adjusted to the brightness. The golden light seemed to have life of its own, dancing through the hall. At the end of hall, across a floor of white marble, was a white throne atop eighteen steps. Each step had a color to it that resembled the eighteen gems on the medallion that now, in his dream, was around Ash's neck. In the throne sat a girl of dark hair that was black like a clear night sky. Her eyes were brown like that of a tree that was damp after a rain, though glittered as if the sun struck the drops of water that clung to the tree. She was beautiful and slender, yet also tall; like a lone, beautiful flower that dominated the horizon of a sea of grass. However, she was dressed in brown rags, not the clothes of royalty as one would think. Yet, she, herself, had the look that carried of one who was proud and majestic, and her eyes held a wisdom and age that Ash had only seen in Legendary and Mythical Pokémon.

"Who are you?" Ash asked, unsure what to say to the strange girl who sat in the throne.

She smiled and rose from the throne, gracefully making her way down each step before reaching the floor. With every step she took, her beauty seemed to grow more and more, and the light of the room seemed to brighten with her approach. Her eyes stayed trained on Ash's, never leaving them as she approached the young man. She stopped just short of him, though within arm's distance. Her eyes moved from his to the medallion at his chest. Her smile turned from one of mystery to a deep and unending sadness. Slowly, she reached for the medallion and gently grabbed it.

"I am truly sorry this was passed onto you," she said softly. " _Between life and death, all the difference you'll make._ Old words, they seem, yet true of all relics such as this, and the Treasures of the Islands. All the same, the task of its safekeeping has been appointed to you. There is hope in what you have, yet also is there despair. And, as those before you, if you do not find a way, all is lost."

"I don't understand," Ash frowned. "What is it? What does it do?"

"Life and death, hope and despair, light and dark, good and evil," the girl answered. "Many have tried to search for the hidden secrets, but they were lost long ago. There are those who know, but they are forgotten, having forsaken a world that has long forsaken them."

"Do you know anything about it?" Ash asked.

"I know, but I have not deemed you worthy," she answered.

"Then who are you?" Ash asked again.

"An ally, but long past," she said plainly. "As for a name, names hold power. It would be wise that yours be kept secret."

"Why?" Ash asked, puzzled. "What does my name have to do with anything?"

"Everything!" the girl smiled. "And the relic most of all. Many were made, in ages past. This one was lost, but survived the destruction of the others. A memory of who you are, where you come from, and duty of the world's protection."

"Then who am I?" he frowned, wanting more than vague answers.

"A servant," she answered, "as I am. Long have we waited, and our wait holds. He who is the Champion of Gold and Silver, the Defender of Time and Space, the Peacemaker of the Land, Sea, and Sky, the Lord of the Elements, and the Bond and Bridge between the Children of Arceus and the Children of The One, is the one we await. And he will be the servant that can end the darkness that the two Children originally could not. That is our hope, to give rise to the servant whom we await. And now you have been chosen to carry on the task. Even still, we defend the medallion, and the troubles of the world. Long has the world forgotten us, but we remember the world and defend it. And defend it we shall, even after the task that the Children failed is complete by the servant we await."

"I don't understand," Ash said slowly. "Protection from what?"

"Chaos," the girl answered. "Evil is the seed in this world that has taken root long ago, and that root is stronger than any foe you may face. It is that root that gave rise to the secret shame of the Two Children. A shame that is no longer remembered by the living, save by those who know of the medallion."

"Who are they?" Ash asked.

"The Elder Ones," the girl answered, "who were betrayed and forsook the world. Their knowledge is greater than mine. But theirs shall be aid of reluctance, if they aid anyone at all."

"But who are they?" Ash asked impatiently, "Where can I find them or something about them?"

"That knowledge does not exist," the girl laughed. "There is much about the world that all living things do not know because it is good for them to not know. It is good that they not know their shame, for such shame would surely break them of all hope they have. Sometimes, the past needs to stay the past. And only few are allowed to know such a past. As for where, you must look the same way your predecessor did. Clues are all around the world, if you can find them. Listen to the medallion, it will guide you. Listen to your heart, it will help you to find one to further the line and secure the servant we await. Listen to your mind, it will give you wisdom in your darkest hours, as will those who love and support you. Listen to your gut, as it is good for instinct to guide when you are unsure. But, most of all, listen to your friends, your loved ones, and your pokémon. I see in you a dark road that must be traveled, and a darker road still that will threaten you. Take heart, for death is not the end! The strength of the medallion will further the line to the servant."

At that moment, a stormy sky appeared over the sky-windows of the hall, cutting off the golden light that filled the hall with joy and wonder. The girl looked up and frowned. A coldness fell over Ash's mind, and a sense of fear overtook his heart.

"It is time to part ways," the girl said. "We will meet again, but the darkness is searching. When it is past, we shall speak more. Remember what I said, and do not tarry. You must begin your search now, while the light is still with the Children!"

Ash felt a pull at him and a flash of images came to his mind, some filled with peace and joy, people and pokémon untied in a state of love and friendship, and others with the darkness of war and turmoil. Growth, destruction, and regrowth, over and over again. The images flashed time and time again, as if telling a story, but the story was too fast to make out or make any sense of. Until, at last, an image stopped suddenly at a bolt of lightning that was hurtling down from the skies, and a Pikachu jumping from a bike basket to absorb the bolt.

Yet, as Ash saw the memory of the beginning of his journey, he was felt himself being shaken. His eyes opened immediately to the feeling. It a moment to process what he was seeing, but he saw Serena sitting on his bed next to him, her eyes wide with concern.

"Ash, are you alright?" she asked. "You started shaking in your sleep as if you were having a nightmare!"

Ash sat up slightly and rubbed his eyes before looking back at the concerned girl. He nodded slightly and heard the soft cry of his longtime partner, Pikachu. Ash couldn't help but look down into the curious and worried eyes of his old friend. He smiled softly and scratched the head of the yellow electric mouse in reassurance that he was alright.

"Chaa!" Pikachu cried happily at the display of affection from his master.

"I'm sorry I worried you both," Ash continued his soft smile towards Pikachu before looking up into Serena's beautiful sky-blue eyes once more. "How long was I asleep?"

"A while," Serena answered softly. "It's almost time for dinner…. But, all things considering, we have been traveling for a week without stopping at a Pokémon Center to rest, so it is natural that you let your own exhaustion take hold of you."

Ash nodded slowly, wondering how on earth he could be so insensitive to let sleep overtake him to the point that he couldn't be there for his grieving mother since lunch. Though, considering the emotional rollercoaster of the day, plus his own physical exhaustion from his long hike between the Indigo Plateau and Pallet Town, it was only a matter of time until he would heed the call of his bodily need for bed. As he slowly got out of his bed, and both Serena and Pikachu watched him carefully, the trio heard a knock on the door. They turned their heads to see the door open slightly and Misty's head pop out of the opening from behind the door. She gave Ash a friendly smile, as well as Pikachu, but her smile slightly dropped when her eyes met Serena's. A small look of jealousy passed between the two ladies, which went unnoticed by Ash. However, Pikachu felt the tension and quickly hopped off the bed to stand by Ash, not wishing to take sides.

"What's up, Misty?" Ash asked, not thinking about the fact that Misty's and Serena's eyes were trained upon each other as pair of extremely territorial pokémon that were ready to battle over their own. However, Ash's voice caused Misty to snap out of her staring contest with Serena. She blinked for a moment at Ash, trying to recollect where she was and what she was doing.

"Oh, right!" Misty exclaimed, remembering why she came up to see Ash. "Your mom wanted to talk to you."

"Mom?" Ash blinked in confusion, but nodded after a moment. "Alright. Thanks, Misty."

Ash moved forward and Pikachu jumped onto his master's right shoulder, causing Ash to smile fondly at his partner. Misty moved to the side to let Ash pass, but her eyes eventually found their way back to Serena, who simply and quietly followed Ash. The honey blonde stopped short of the redhead and looked at her. Neither of the pair said a word. They didn't have to. Both understood that the other had a deep affection for the raven haired idiot they knew as Ash Ketchum and called their dearest friend. However, despite the tension between them in regards to romantic rivalry, there was enough respect between them and for Ash that they understood that they could be friends. However, to keep up with Ash, their pause to look at each other was short lived. They soon found themselves downstairs in the living room once again to see Delia give her son an envelope that seemed worn with time. The paper was yellow due to its exposure to air, but it was well preserved enough that it wasn't damaged in any other way. Ash stared at the envelope for a moment before looking back at his mother curiously.

"It's from your father," Delia said softly. "He wrote it to you a long time ago, shortly after you were born, but right before he left. I'm not sure what it says, as he made me promise to not read it, but I have always wondered if it may have the answers as to why he left us as soon as he did."

Ash at his mother, whose face was now downcast. Her hair caused a shadow to move over her eyes. She seemed as if she were going to cry again, but she didn't. Ash couldn't help but from in sympathy for her. Quickly, he reached over to her and hugged her tightly. Delia looked back at her son for a moment and closed her eyes, returning the tight hug and giving a sad sigh that was also in relief of the given comfort. After just holding onto his mother for a while, he let go and went to a chair to sit in. Slowly, he reached for the back of the sealed envelope and opened it. Inside was a long letter of multiple pages, front and back, a signet ring that held the image of what could only be described as a pokéball, only it had pink cross on it instead of the usual black line, and, curiously enough, an old map. The map itself seemed ancient, and that even breathing upon it would cause in to turn to dust, but it held its own. Yet, when Ash touched the map and opened it to see that it was faded, the medallion suddenly glowed in response upon Ash's chest and the map changed from its old and worn state to as if it were freshly made. Everyone stared between the map and the medallion in shock, except for Delia, who merely frowned.

"Wh-what is that thing?" Misty asked with awe. "What just happened?"

Ash merely looked up at Misty in wonder as her eyes stayed glued to the map that changed so suddenly. Ash looked back to the map itself and simply studied it for a brief moment. He didn't know why, but the map seemed oddly familiar to him. Yet, what was depicted on the map were two images: one of a giant landmass conjoined together and the other was a magnified image of a centralized landmass that dead in the center of the greater landmass. The centralized landmass was rather large island surrounded by a sea that cut it off from the mainland, but three great rivers cut the great island into three parts. The large rivers flowed into the enclosed, circular sea, and that sea made rivers that spilled into mainland and flowed out into the ocean surrounding the giant landmass. While the map had images that looked familiar to Ash, they also looked completely different. He could not figure out why he had his feeling of knowing this map, but he also could not figure out a clue to let him know the reason for his feeling. Despite that, he would have sworn he never seen anything on this map before. The lands were different, the names were different, and a world map did not have any image of anything resembling the landmass depicted on the map before him. After staring at the map for a good, long while, Ash finally shook his head. He wouldn't get anywhere trying to figure out the map without reading the letter. Slowly, he took it and unfolded the contents.

 _"To my beloved son, Ash,_

 _If you are reading this, then that means I finally decided to give you the medallion. If you happen to be reading this and I did not give you the medallion in person – well, all people must meet their doom eventually. But it is not death I fear, but rather I fear the death of those I love. Though, in truth, a small part of me is afraid to give you the medallion. I have no desire to see its mystery consume you as it did me, and every other Ketchum for that matter! I would much rather you have the chance to live your life. To fulfil your dreams. To find love. Yet, the medallion must go to a Ketchum. We are its protectors, as much as that task has stolen from our family. In truth, I should give it to you the day you receive your first pokémon, but I would much rather save you from that as long as I can. You deserve to have a chance to live your life. I never had that chance, nor did your grandfather. Delia, my love, if it happens that you are the one who are reading this letter, and the medallion has come into your possession before or any time after Ash receives his first pokémon, you MUST pass it onto him. I know your feelings towards it, I do, but it will protect him much more than you realize. And if it is you who is reading this letter, my love, understand that everything I told you is true, but I did not tell you all of it._

 _Where do I begin? There is so much to tell, and if I were to tell it all, everything I will write will be a book by the time I finish! Perhaps two! I suppose, the first question to be asked is 'What_ _ **is**_ _the medallion?' Truthfully, I do not know. No Ketchum truly knows. However, there are many answers as to what it_ _ **could**_ _be: a weapon, a shield, a builder and destroyer, a healer, knowledge, strength, a way to speak to pokémon, a blessing, a curse, a pretty necklace…. It is all of these things. It is none of these things. The medallion itself, first and foremost, has no actual power. The gems, however, do. There are eighteen gems, and each are colored differently. These colors are, in truth, both a figurative and actual portrayal of the elemental powers of all pokémon. Fire, water, grass – all of them are associated with an elemental type._

 _The gems have many different functions, but they are strange. Some can be used to protect the user from the elements, while others can be used to bend certain elements to the will of the user. Some gems, such as the psychic gem, can be used to communicate with any pokémon and be used to understand the speech of pokémon. Ever since your grandfather gave me the medallion, I made it my mission to find out as much about it as I could. While I have found out much about the abilities of the gems, I cannot say that I know anything about the medallion other than the abilities I just described. Much of the power of the medallion lies in mystery._

 _There are many mysteries associated with the medallion. Of one, the medallion seems to have both a mind of its own at times, but its power only truly awakens in the hands of a Ketchum. In my many travels over the years, I have come to find that power of the medallion does not respond to just anyone. It seems ever to partially respond to certain people who have an ability that medallion reacts to. What that is, I cannot say, but they feel the medallion, and the medallion feels them. I know this because the gems would glow whenever such a person happened to be near them that wasn't me. Strangely enough, the medallion reacts in part to pokémon as well. While the power of the gems does not react as strongly as it does to people, there is a faint glow that appears whenever the gems come into contact with Riolu and Lucario. Whatever it is about them, the gems draw such pokémon to them as a moth to flame._

 _However, because of these strange events, I have come to be extremely cautious about going into cities with the medallion. While there are extremely few people who attract the power of the medallion, you can never be too careful. Those who can sense it may just as easily be a foe as they could be a friend. Yet, that is not the end of the strange reactions that the gems have had. While I traveled in Hoenn region, I found that the gems had a strong reaction to Mt. Pyre. According to legend, Mt. Pyre is not only home to various ghost pokémon, but also to the Red and Blue Orbs that are able to awaken Groudon and Kyogre. When I came to the mountain summit, though I was still far off from the shrine that the Orbs were housed in, the fire and water gems suddenly glowed brightly, and the Orbs did the same. I have often wondered if my visit would have awoken Groudon and Kyogre, but I fled the mountain summit before I could find out._

 _That was not the only strange encounter I had in which the gems so strongly and violently reacted, however. The gems have reacted strongly to the Tree of the Beginning, which is north of Pewter City, Mt. Coronet, in the Sinnoh region, and Route 10 of the Kalos region, just to name a few places. Of all the places the gems have had a strong reaction to, the Trio of Islands near Shamouti Island in the Orange Archipelago was without a doubt the strangest and the most beautiful. I climbed the top of each of the three islands to see the ancient spheres that were associated with the old Shamouti legend. Though I never told anyone, when I approached the spheres, the gems of fire, ice, and lightning glowed, and the spheres responded. That day, I saw Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno in all of their glory. Though, these birds seemed larger and more magnificent than the birds in the pokédex description, and I swore that their eyes held an age and wisdom that was far beyond mine. Whatever happened, the gems spoke to the spheres, and the spheres called out to the Island Trio. I did not disturb them as to bring about the destruction of the world, but they seemed almost afraid of the gems when they saw the medallion. They even spoke to me, but it seemed that each bird was not speaking to me, but rather the gems as if they were living things. Yet, in peace, they each left me, each of them still deeply afraid, to go back to their sleep. I do not know what happened, and I still don't. All I know is that each of them could have easily killed me in that moment, but they did not. Something about the gems made them timid, though I cannot begin to guess as to what. None of my research has given me any answers._

 _Another part of my research, now that I think about it, is in regards to pokémon evolution. Because each gem is associated with an elemental type, there is a sense in which they act as evolutionary stones. However, because the gems are greater in power, they have a strength that no evolutionary stone can match. Some pokémon can only evolve with a stone, but the gems can evolve any pokémon, whether they need a stone to evolve or not. The gems are even capable of skipping an evolutionary step, such as changing a Charmander straight to a Charizard. The gems, therefore, are the single greatest key to unlocking the true power of any pokémon. However, such power does come at a heavy price. A pokémon must not be forced to evolve against its will. If it is, the creature is not only changed, but that destroys who it once was. The spirit of a pokémon becomes corrupted, and is lost. However, if its will is strong enough, it might survive, but rage and hatred will always ever consume it. If the will is not strong enough, the sudden loss of its spirit kills the pokémon. It is wise, therefore, to build a strong friendship with your pokémon before using the gems to evolve it. And even then, if they do not require an evolutionary stone to evolve, you must seek out permission to use the gems to change them, lest you risk the horrible effects that I told you about. That being said, pokémon who need evolutionary stones to evolve do not risk the ill effects of the gems, but the gems are still dangerous regardless._

 _Which brings me to another strange thing with evolution. As you will no doubt find out, if you do not know, some pokémon have multiple evolutionary forms that they can assume. Unless those evolutionary forms are dictated by the gender of a pokémon, the gems have the interesting ability to work a power known as 'devolution' in order to change what a pokémon evolves into. Under the power of the gems, a Wurmple evolved into a Dustox could devolve back into a Wurmple and into a Beautifly. If the will and bond between a pokémon and the user of the gems is strong enough, however, the user could, in fact, use the gems to cross the two evolutions into one, creating a super powered pokémon. This form is very similar to the concept of mega evolution, which the gems also have power over and I will go over soon. These forms, interestingly, both devolution and cross evolution, are most prominent in the pokémon known as Eevee. Because of Eevee's ability to adapt of any environment with the use of evolutionary stones, the gems are able to be used on it without risking any of the harmful effects that could damage or even kill Eevee. However, because of the great amount of power that goes into cross evolution, it leaves Eevee extremely exhausted to the point that exiting the cross evolution state requires Eevee to rest for an entire day before being able to cross evolve again. Limitations are required, and the stress of such power is a great weight on Eevee._

 _Which brings me to my last part of research on evolution when it comes to the gems. While cross evolution is much like mega evolution, cross evolution can be permanent with the power of the gems, if you wish it. Yet, the gems make it so the user does not need a key stone or a mega stone to use mega evolution. Of course, much like cross evolution, the bond and will of the pokémon and user must be high enough to reach such a power. And even then, it is dangerous. During my studies in the Kalos region, I came to learn of a power known as the 'bond phenomenon.' The strength of the gems in regards to mega evolution is much like that power. However, unlike, the real bond phenomenon, which supposedly happens once every few centuries, the gems can kill the user if the user is not strong enough, but it does not hurt the pokémon. I have wondered if mega evolution and cross evolution could be combined, considering that Charizard has two mega evolutionary forms, but it seems to me that such power requires a bond that I am not sure I have, and am afraid to explore. Though, in humor to myself, I have called this form 'Mega Charizard Z,' as such power would indeed be the limit of a pokémon's true power. Also, as I write this letter to you, it occurs to me that I do not have a Chairzard to test such a theory! Not that Delia would allow me if she knew of such a dangerous experiment._

 _To leave you with, my dear Ash, I think that I must, lastly, tell you the legend of how the Ketchum family came by the medallion. It is a short story, even as I think about it, and there is much that is left out, which makes me wonder much about the medallion's origins the more I think of it, but it does still ring true to what I told Delia: 'The Ketchum family has always had the medallion.'_

' _Many ages ago, there lived a boy without name who played in wilderness. So great was his desire to explore that he would often run off into the wilderness against the wishes of his parents. One day, as he explored, he happened upon a girl. She dirty and crying, her clothes were torn, and she wore a strange medallion with many gems. However, the boy did not notice her clothes, as he was dressed in rags, but he did notice her great beauty, and was immediately smitten by her. Immediately he had a desire to help her, though she grew afraid of him when he came near and was ready to flee from him. However, when his friendly voice called out to her, she stopped and turned to him. And when he spoke kindly to her, doom fell upon them. And so the boy left his family and ran away with her. They ran long until exhaustion finally overtook them. It was on the day that they collapsed together that a group of pokémon found them and took them in, caring for them and all their needs. The boy and girl stayed with the group of pokémon, and the pokémon swore to protect them and keep them a secret. And so, over the years, the pair fell in love, and had a son together. That child they named 'Ketchum.' So came began our family, and our long duty to protect the medallion, as was the wish that the girl made of the boy without a name. We have kept that duty, and will always keep it, for the love of our family.'_

 _Now you, my dear Ash, now know the story and the duty that we Ketchums share. Whether you choose to embrace your task or not is the decision you have to make. However, no Ketchum can part with the medallion. It is, for some odd reason, bound to us, and we to it. Whether you choose to follow your own path, or continue my research, is your own affair. I will not tell you what it right, but I will tell you that protecting the medallion is our duty. I wish I didn't have to pass this duty onto you, but you are a Ketchum. It is a lonely task, believe me, but my heart tells me that it is a task that helps to protect the world. Inside the envelope are a signet ring, which I made by using the power of the gems to make the ring act as a Pokémon Center for when I know I can't reach one, and an old family map that has also been passed down from generation to generation. Maybe you will have better luck uncovering its secrets than I have. However, all of that being said, you need to understand that this task, its research, is a dangerous thing. It is not only dangerous for you and your pokémon, but dangerous to all of your loved ones. I will not tell you to travel alone, but believe me when I say that those who travel with you will be much safer than they know. They will not only be safe from the physical dangers, but also from the knowledge of the medallion. Such knowledge makes your loved ones a target for your enemies, if you ever have any._

 _Remember most of all, Ash, to never give up until the end. Remember that your greatest strength lies in those around you who love you: your friends, your family, and your pokémon. Build upon that love, my son, for it will protect you when you feel alone and feel like giving up. Use that love to grow and to help your pokémon grow as well. That love will help you to fulfil your dreams. If it happens that I am not able to see what a fine man you have grown into, please know and understand that I do love you, Ash, and that I am far more proud of you than I can say. Always do your best, and always know that you are never alone._

 _With all of my love,_

 _-Rob Ketchum (Aka. Dad)"_

When Ash finished reading the letter, there was a deafening silence in the room. He looked up to see his mom and his friends around him, wondering what he was going to say about the letter. Looking back down at the letter, he folded it back up and put it back in the envelope along with the ring and the map. Getting off the chair, he started towards the stairs.

"Ash, aren't you going to stay dinner?" Misty asked in a worried tone.

"I'm not hungry," Ash mumbled loudly enough for everyone to hear and went back upstairs, with only Pikachu following him to his room.

The group shared looks of concern as they listened to Ash's footsteps upstairs and flinched when they heard his bedroom door open and slam shut. Quietly, everyone else sat down to eat, all of them in quiet thought about Ash. The night was slow, especially for Misty and Serena, who would often wonder if they should go to check on their saddened friend. When the morning light came, and the girls went to Ash's room to wake him up, all they found was his bed neatly made, and letters addressed individually to his mom and his friends. All of them expressing his love for them, all of them explaining that he felt an odd sense of danger and a desire to keep them all safe, and all of them saying one final thing: "Goodbye."

 **Hey, everyone! Thanks for reading. 21 pages in this chapter and over 7000 words! Ha! I feel great. Anyway, please leave your reviews. Theories, comments, criticisms, or anything else you might have are always appreciated! Thanks again, and have a great day!**


	6. Chapter 5

Pokemon: The Lord of the Elements

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Chapter 5

The Breaking World and the Search for Ash Ketchum

It had been four long years since Delia suffered the loss of her husband and the disappearance of her son. Four long years and no one heard a word from or about Ash. While Professor Oak could have easily traced where Ash might have been through Ash's Trainer ID on his pokédex, the task became completely impossible when it learned that Ash had left the device at home. If Ash did not want to be tracked by satellite, he certainly made sure it could not happen.

Immediately after his disappearance, Misty exercised her right by the Pokémon League to request conduct of a search for the missing potential Champion of Kanto. Professor Oak, having the authority to grant her request, gave her permission to take leave from her gym duties in order to look for Ash since he couldn't track the young man. However, since Misty's sisters were far less than adequate as gym leaders, Professor Oak could only give Misty the leave of a year to conduct the search or risk the Cerulean City Gym being shut down. Thankfully for Misty, however, Serena, Brock, and Tracey eagerly volunteered to help her in the task. However, since Misty and Brock had very limited time to search for Ash since they would have to return to their duties within a certain time, the four had to split up. It was agreed, therefore, since Serena and Tracey had more time in which to search for Ash, that Serena would look in the Johto region, Tracey would search the Kanto region, Misty would search the western Orange Islands, and Brock would search the eastern Orange Islands. It was also agreed that Serena, Misty, and Tracey would meet back in Pallet Town in eleven months since Brock had to return to his duties as a pokémon doctor far sooner.

When Misty and Brock met each other at Shamouti Island at the middle of the Orange Islands both had reported to the other that neither had found Ash. However, much to the surprise of the pair, they both realized on their journeys how quiet the world seemed to them both. Every day they saw less and less wild pokemon. While Misty did not think much about it originally, the fact that both she and Brock encountered few or no wild pokemon on each island gave the redhead pause. Worry began to fill her heart. She recalled the sounds of all her travels in the Islands, but the jungles were strangely quiet. There were no chirpings made by bird or bug pokémon, and the sounds that were made were made by the ever-searching trainers. Even the sea was quiet except in times of storm.

However, Misty pushed aside the nagging doubt of her mind and continued her search for Ash even after Brock left, going to every island in the southern Orange Islands that the pair had missed. Not finding anything that might give her news of Ash, she made her journey back to Kanto, as much as the failure of the task pained her already fragile heart. Of course, Misty wouldn't dare to cry in front of her friends. She had placed the hope that her tears would all be shed before having to tell Ash's mother that she failed to her promise to find the son of Delia Ketchum. Yet, Misty was not the only one who had failed to hear any word about Ash. It was not long before Serena and Tracey found their ways back to Pallet Town after Misty returned, and the news was the same: Ash was nowhere to be found, and the regions of Kanto and Johto were oddly quiet as well. According to Tracy, however, who had more luck at finding wild pokémon, those pokémon that he did see would immediately flee from him out of fear. Again, Misty felt a deep discomfort in her heart, though she could not place as to why such fears clouded her heart and mind. Still, her time was up in searching for the overly dense trainer she cared deeply about was up, and she had to return home to Cerulean City to take care of the gym. Tracey, too, had to return to his work with Professor, and had to quit the search for his missing friend, but Misty asked Serena to continue the search.

Serena, of course, accepted the task. Misty, however, before leaving, made several calls to Ash's previous companions, telling them what happened and asking for their help. The friends more than happy help, though their own fears gripped their hearts as much as fear gripped the hearts of Misty and Serena. Serena, despite her own sadness at the loss of Ash, couldn't help but feel a little better at the fact that she would not be alone in her search. Still, Serena wanted to be the one to find Ash so she could yell at him about how much she worried about him. Though, even Serena knew that was unfair. Everyone had a right to be angry with Ash for his actions. Still, even if she was furious at him out of her love for him, it was that same love that pled earnestly for his safety. It was that same love that caused Serena anger that made her swear to do nothing but hold onto him until she was sure he was home and safe.

"I'm not even sure where to begin," Serena told Misty sadly. "I don't know where Ash might have gone."

"You're right," Misty nodded. "Ash could have gone anywhere: Kalos, Alola, Sinnoh, Hoenn, Unova, or he could be where we already looked. Maybe he could be somewhere he has never been before. Ash is only one person. If he doesn't want to be found, he will try to hide as best he can. One person, after all, is hard to find when you aren't sure where that person is. But we have numbers. Too many people care about Ash to simply allow him to have vanished the way he did."

"But where should I go?" Serena frowned. "We have no clues to make a guess."

Misty couldn't help but look down in frustration. Serena was right, they couldn't run anywhere blindly without something to make a guess. All they could guess at was that Ash, if he wanted to find out what his father died for, would go anywhere that his father went. However, Rob Ketchum was known by Delia to have traveled all over the world.

"Mrs. Ketchum," Misty turned to the woman she had long considered a motherly figure, "do you know anywhere that might have been important to Ash's dad? Special in some way?"

"Not by name," Delia answered the young redhead. "But I do know that Rob was often fond of ruins and old things. I do remember one thing, though: Rob once studied something in Kalos called 'the megalith.' There was evidently a ruin near it that people often kept quiet about for reason."

"That wouldn't surprise me," Serena said softly, looking down in thought. "There is much of the history of Kalos that is shrouded in mystery and tragedy, and probably for good reason. Legends of a man who created a super weapon that could drain the life of pokémon and grant immortality to mock the very pokémon it was designed after? War after war fought for lands that brought only the deaths of innocent people and pokémon? Only for peace to be obtained by Zygarde, who came to hate all humans until Ash and I helped to stop Team Flare from destroying the world? And even then, it was still Zygarde who saved the world! There is much Kalos would like to repair and forget."

"Yet it is those who forget history who are doomed to repeat it," Delia answered. "I don't know where Ash went, but I do know Rob was the most interested in the megalith."

"But why?" Misty asked. "Why would he be interested in it?"

"Mega evolution," Serena replied. "It is common knowledge that mega stones are made from the same material the megalith is made from."

"And the necklace can evolve an Eevee," Misty said, looking to Delia.

"Yes," Delia nodded. "Rob was always interested in evolution. How and why pokémon evolved, how it was that stones could evolve pokémon, climate in concern to evolution, time of day…. Rob was not easy to stop when it came to the subjects he loved. But it was devolution that held his greatest attention, primarily why the necklace was able to evolve and devolve Eevee."

"Mega evolution isn't permanent, though," Serena pointed out. "A pokémon who enters the state is eventually pulled out of it."

"That would have been more of a reason for Rob to go," Delia said. "Unlike 'mega evolution,' the necklace could make the evolutionary change permanent until Rob wanted to change the form of Eevee."

"Then I guess Kalos is your first stop," Misty turned to Serena. "Going home may be good for you."

"No," Serena shook her head, "I won't be okay until I know Ash is safe."

Delia and Misty couldn't help but nod with Serena. Ash was dear to everyone who called him "friend," and he was dearest to Delia. So, after the agreement, Serena returned to Kalos and Misty went back to the Cerulean City gym. Misty attempted over the next three years to gather what information she could, and the news she received only succeeded in getting stranger and casting a shadow over her heart. The second year of Ash's disappearance saw the lowering of crime rates across the world. Misty couldn't help but wonder why criminal organizations would just vanish as if they were disbanding, but she always pushed back the worry that gnawed at her heart. Of course, fragments of the criminal organizations remained, but the fragments weren't big enough to cause the police more than a headache. As such, those fragments were quickly defeated and it seemed that the world could enjoy a time of peace. Still, Misty had the nagging feeling that everything just seemed far too easy and strange.

In the third year of Ash's disappearance, the news Misty received caused her worry to grow greatly. Across the world were reports of wild pokémon who had become aggressive and began attacking travelers, farms, and towns. Most pokémon remained hidden, but now their fear was directed more at the pokémon that were aggressive and cruel rather than humans. Yet, their fear of humans was still great despite the fact that they were now hiding in fear of other pokémon. Of the most troubling news that Misty had come by of that year was the news that owned pokémon were becoming afraid to the point that they would refuse to battle. Other owned pokémon, however, would simply refuse to listen to their trainers. Some rumors, however, claimed that pokémon that were already disobedient to their trainers had come to attack their trainers. As such, those pokémon were forced either to be released back into the wild, where they could possibly become worse and attack people, or be sent to laboratories under sealed pokéballs so scientists could study what it was that was driving the pokémon to such violent behaviors.

As such, Misty's thoughts often strayed to the many friends that Ash had made over the years. She often wondered if they were okay. She often wondered if Ash was okay. Serena, May, and Dawn, however, would often make calls to Misty to let her know how the search was going. While they would explain to Misty that they didn't find anything that might give a clue to where Ash was, the girls did confirm any news that Misty might have come by that affirmed the growing chaos of the world. It was Dawn, however, who informed Misty, Serena, and May of a strange man who was going around Sinnoh, cloaked in a grey robe and hooded, and would save towns and farms from the marauding pokémon that would constantly attack humans. The "Grey Wanderer," the people of Sinnoh called him, and he quickly became a legend in the world. However, no one truly knew who he was, and those who did see him in daylight saw when he would protect settlements from the inexplicably aggressive pokémon. The only people who did see the Wanderer often were the Nurse Joys of the region, and always at night. Quickly it had become common knowledge that the violent pokémon were not only attacking humans, but also other pokémon as well. The more Dawn told of the trouble in Sinnoh, the more Misty began to listen to the fear in her heart, and that fear told her that something far worse was going on.

It was not until the fourth year of Ash's disappearance, however, that Misty's doubt was confirmed. There were reports of more frequent natural disasters: storms of terrible proportion, floods, droughts, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, blizzards, avalanches, and many other horrors that spread across the world. Yet, the stake that was driven into her darkest dreams were the reports that the Red and Blue Orbs atop Mount Pyre were said to glowing brightly and visible to any that were within sight of the mountain. Others who further claimed to see the clashing lights of the Orbs on the horizon. Similarly, the three spheres of the Trio of Islands near Shamouti Island were said to emit lights that could be seen from each isle in the Orange Islands, as well as the great heights from Mount Silver. What made that news frightening, however, was the report that Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno were perched visibly on their respective islands, gazing towards the shrine at Shamouti Island, which was occupied by the presence of a Lugia. None of the great birds attacked each other, but they all gazed hostilely at one another. Misty could all too well recall the horror that took place at those islands now thirteen years ago, and made her wish earnestly for Ash to reappear so he might be able to calm the birds before an attack broke out. Even after the rumors of such appearances, however, there were reports made that legendary pokémon began to appear across the world, each of them glaring at their counterparts. Some of these rumors were confirmed, such as at Shamouti, others stayed, thankfully, rumors. In Hoenn, however, even though Groudon and Kyogre did not appear to attack each other, their brightly glowing orbs suggested that they were wake and angry.

And so all Misty could do, much like the rest of Ash's friends, was wait and hope that the world was not about to be destroyed.

…...

Under the stars, in the Ilex Forest, Celebi hovered in a meditative stance over the lake at the center of the forest. The waters of the lake were warm to the touch, and the wind allowed for the sound of gentle, relaxing waves to be made across the water. In the distance, some pokémon could be seen at the edges of the lake. Galvantula, those pokémon were, and their lightning bug qualities allowed them be seen across the lake as their lights danced at the water's edge. Of all the places of the world, it seemed that the Ilex Forest was the only place left uncorrupted by the darkness that was quickly spreading. Here time stood still and remembered the days of peace. However, as strong as Celebi was, she could not hold back the darkness that thrusted itself against the doors of her beloved forest forever. Still, she was the guardian of this place, and she would protect the Ilex Forest until her last breath.

Still, even though she knew she was fighting an ultimately losing battle, the clean, healing waters of the forest gave her the strength to keep on fighting. The light of the full moon shone down on Celebi and its light danced upon of the rippling water as the many stars glittered upon the lake as light would glitter through a crystal prism. It gave Celebi some calm that such beauty could still be preserved. Still, Celebi couldn't help but feel pity for the pokémon of the forest, as they had no idea what evil desperately wanted to threated and destroy their peace. She was happy to allow them to play in blissful ignorance for as long as she could, but was it right to not allow them to know what was happening in the outside world? Was it right to keep them from preparing for the coming conflict? However, Celebi did not have the moment to answer such questions, as she felt a coming presence behind her.

"You have been away for four years, Mew," Celebi said, neither turning around nor opening her eyes.

"I hate when you do that," Mew answered, the pink cat watching his friend closely.

"I'm a pokémon of time," Celebi said, a slight smile painting her green face. "It's my business to know everything that is going on around me."

"Then I'm sure you know about what I have been doing these past for years," Mew chuckled.

"I'm a pokémon of time, not space," Celebi said. "If I could control space, I could know everything everywhere. When I see time in a space I do not occupy, I can catch flashes of events, unless such events are already in the past and I project my spirit into the place with my psychic powers. Otherwise, no, I do not know."

"Interesting," Mew observed. "Though, I must admit that I did not know that you had knowledge of the difference of past, present, and future considering that you live in all time."

"I am aware of when the present is," Celebi answered. "All Celebi have that knowledge, for it allows us to know when a timeline is incorrect. We observe the future, and make sure the past is lead to that future."

"Then you have more to worry about than you reveal," Mew said quietly.

"You already know my mind, Mew," Celebi said with the warm summer breeze that passed the two. "You know what troubles me. Why are you here? Did you find the Elder Ones?"

"No," Mew answered plainly. "I did not find them. But I know who knows where they are."

"As I said before," Celebi scoffed, "'the Elder Ones have forsaken the world.' Who would both know of them and know where they are? I warn you that your 'source' is a lie."

"The Mew of the lake at Mount Silver," Mew answered.

At that point, Celebi opened her eyes and looked turned around to look at her friend. The Mew of Mount Silver, though a legend to many, was the one pokémon that all other wild pokémon would warn one to stay away from. In truth, any wild pokémon that happened to find the lake at Mount Silver would immediately turn around run away as fast as that pokémon could. The lake there was crystal clear with a small waterfall of equally clear water pouring down from the mountain to fill it. The lake would then flow to a small stream that would eventually find its way to the river mouth between Kanto and Johto that flowed into the sea. The grass surrounding the lake was filled with flowers of many different colors that bloomed all year round. Time, the seasons, did not touch this place. It was ever in a state of between spring and summer that kept the air cool and the water warm. So hauntingly beautiful was the lake of Mount Silver that any human that happened to discover it would immediately be captivated by its spell and would never return after. Yet, despite its great beauty, no sounds were made there except for the waterfall, the ripples of the water, the stream the lake flowed into, and the gentle wind. No pokémon dared go.

The Mew of the lake was, of course, the reason why no pokemon would have gone, assuming that pokemon knew of the legend of the Mew that resided there. It was whispered in fear that the creature had powers that many would consider unnatural. It was said that the Mew of Mount Silver held both life and death in his hands, and that his eyes alone could turn anyone to stone. It was also said that he would often speak to the dead, and enter into the Distortion World to speak with Giratina, and would learn from the Renegade Pokémon. Of course, there was also the rumor that the Mew of Mount Silver had control over both time and space, which is why he was able to keep the lake in the beautiful and perfect state that it was always in. And it was indeed, in so much as the humans that would enter that cursed place only to never return, a lure of paradise and a trap from hell.

"The Mew of Mount Silver," Celebi said slowly. "A creature that could easily kill you with a thought…. What foolishness has taken hold of your mind that you would seek out one of the most dangerous pokémon in the world?"

"Knowledge," Mew answered. "As dangerous as he is, he is also amongst the wisest and most intelligent of pokémon. If there is anywhere that knowledge could be found, it is with him."

"Do you even know what you are getting yourself into?" Celebi frowned. "There is a reason he sought out seclusion! If you go there, you will not return."

"Perhaps," Mew nodded. "But even if the old tales are true, he can still see reason."

"And he kills to remind all to stay away," Celebi said. "What possible reason could he see that would make him to not kill you?"

"I think you already know the answer to that," Mew smirked at his old friend.

"Ketchum," Celebi said quietly. "What could that boy possibly do that could sway the Mew of Mount Silver?"

"Maybe nothing," Mew answered. "Maybe everything. Has it ever occurred to you only humans ever enter the grounds of that lake?"

"Humans don't know what's there," Celebi argued. "If they did, they wouldn't go to that place."

"Exactly," Mew answered, "but he knows what's out there."

"The medallion?" Celebi frowned. "Why would that be important to the Mew of Mount Silver?"

"That is a piece of the puzzle I am still trying to fit," Mew smiled. "Mew and Celebi… we remember far, you and I. But even history can be made to mislead, if the right creatures are allowed to tamper with it. Where ever the Elder Ones are, the Mew of Mount Silver knows how to find them. But, I think he is looking for someone and something. Remember when I told you that that medallion was part of the shame of all living things? He knows of that shame better than anyone. If anyone knows why the world is becoming as dark and chaotic as it is, it is him."

"If what you are saying is true, how do you plan on finding Ketchum?" Celebi asked.

"I think I know the answer to that!" Mew exclaimed, his smile growing larger. "But I will need your help. Celebi, I know you want to protect the Ilex Forest, but your strength is no good to the world if you stay here. It isn't just this forest that is in danger, it's everything."

Celebi looked away from Mew for a moment and to the dancing lights at the shore of the lake she held dear to her heart. Yes, as much as she wanted to protect each and every pokémon here, she knew she couldn't always protect them. With each day, the evil that threatened the world grew stronger, and these pokémon needed to be able fight back.

"I will help you," Celebi said quietly after the long moment she spent turned from her friend. "But I can't leave until they know the danger they face."

"I will help you with that," Mew smiled and placed a comforting hand on Celebi's shoulder. "We will make sure they are ready."

"Thank you," Celebi whispered and grasped the hand of her dear friend. "So how do you plan on finding Ketchum?"

"That's easy," Mew chuckled. "We need to find a pokémon who has a connection to him. From darker news that I have heard from the Kalos region, there is only one who could find him: Greninja."

…

Dark storm clouds hung over the whole of Mount Coronet as Dawn slowly trudged up the road. It was an uphill climb and she was nearing the end of physical strength with as much as she had recently been walking. Still, Dawn knew she keep up her feet. The day was as cold as it was dark, and no worse for wear.

"So much for summer," Dawn grumbled as she finally found the top of the hill, and for good reason. Ever since the light shows that started from the Orbs at Mount Pyre, and the spheres of the Trio of Islands in the Orange Archipelago, storm clouds formed and came to rest over Mount Coronet, shrouding its highest peaks in their darkness. Though, if one looked at the clouds long enough, one could see flashes of lightning, particularly over Spear Pillar.

She found herself standing over a cliff that overlooked a small mountain town. While it was not ideally the place for her stay considering how aggressive pokémon were becoming, the weather forced her to quickly rethink her options. Biting wind that came down from the mountain thrashed against her cheeks as river water would thrash upon a stony shore, causing her blood to quickly rise to her skin to provide warmth for her face. It was a vain response of her body, however, for the wind continued again and again to lash at her. Each strike from the wind was akin to being slapped by cold fish. It also attacked her eyes, causing unbidden tears to shed in another desperate attempt of her body trying to protect itself.

She squeezed her eyes shut for the moment, waiting for the gust to pass. Dawn was an attractive young woman who had recently turned twenty years old. She had dark blue eyes and long, straight, blue hair that was even darker and reached down to her lower back. She wore a white snow cap to protect her ears and a red jacket over her normal sleeveless black top and short pink skirt. She wore no leggings, though she did have on a good pair of pink boots that came up to her upper shins. Of course, now she mentally kicked herself for not wearing legging to protect her entire body. The wind snapped at her again, wildly and violently whipping her hair around. The humidity from the mountain storm was no friend to her hair, either, causing curls to start to form at the end of her beautiful hair.

Much like Serena and Misty, Dawn searched vigilantly for Ash, trying to get any news that she could of him. However, the best lead she had in maybe finding Ash was tracking down this "Grey Wanderer" who had been traveling dangerously around Sinnoh. Though, much to Dawn's frustration, the Wanderer always seemed three steps ahead of her. However, Dawn resolved to find the Wanderer and find Ash. Again, like Serena and Misty, Dawn had come to have feelings for the boy she traveled with, though, in their beginning, Dawn's affection for Ash was more like a child who developed a crush on her babysitter. When she and Ash had parted ways, however, though she spent a time in grief, Dawn felt a certain freedom in the fact that she could forget her childish crush. However, as she grew older and began to hear more about Ash during his journeys in Kalos and his victory at the Indigo Plateau, along with the letters they would write to each other, Dawn's affection for Ash Ketchum came hurtling back to her heart as a rocket ship comes back to the world. So, despite how tired she was, her loyalty and affection for Ash drove her on.

Still, the faint lights of the town called out Dawn and, to get out of the weather, she eagerly ran as fast as her legs could carry her, leaving only a flash of pink, red, and white to the eye. Taking shelter at the nearest local establishment she could find, she let out a sigh of relief. When she turned around to see where she had wound up at, however, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Great," Dawn grumbled again, "I'm in a bar!"

However, when she turned to leave, a crack of thunder pealed through the sky that sounded like a window being shattered right next to her. The sounding thunder acted as a gunshot signal in racing to let the rain start downpouring upon the town. Much to Dawn's annoyance, however, the rain was accompanied by penny sized hail. She was going nowhere. Defeated by the elements and ready to have some food and water, she turned slowly and came towards the bar. The smell of alcohol filled the air along with the smell of cigarettes that stained the clothes of the customers in the bar. Dawn wasn't sure if she wanted to vomit or not at the invading smell. Still, she had nowhere else to go, and she was hungry. Her resolve made her stay, even if she hated herself a little for it.

"Can I get you a drink, young lady?" a bartender asked warmly.

"I'm not twenty-one," Dawn answered. "But if you have some water and maybe something to eat, I will pay."

"How old are you?" the bartender asked Dawn, looking out the window at the howling storm before looking back at Dawn in pity.

"Twenty," Dawn said, showing the bartender her ID.

"Good enough for me," the bartender smiled. "At least you don't need a parent to be in here with you. What can I get you to eat?"

"Anything you think is good," Dawn smiled softly. "Trust me, after the hike I went through, any food is good!"

"I believe you," the bartender laughed. "I'll get the grill going for you. Maybe a good hamburger and fries will cheer you up?"

"That sounds perfect!" Dawn nodded. "Thank you."

The bartender smiled warmly at the bluenette and went into the kitchen while Dawn took a moment to observe her surroundings. It was still the middle of the day, so the establishment was still in a more relaxed state, but some customers were indeed there to either grab a bite to eat or drink away the sorrows of the day. Of course, the world had been in nothing but sorrow ever since the wild pokémon of the world began their strange behaviors. Most people feared to leave cities or towns because of the hostile pokémon that kept attacking any humans they could find. It had become so bad that, for the safety of the children of the world, that anyone who wanted to a trainer, unless they already were, could not be a pokémon trainer until that person was least sixteen, and even that age was still highly debated by politicians.

Still, despite the rampaging wild pokémon, it seemed that captured still, for the most part, obeyed their trainers. Yet, Dawn couldn't help but wonder if the same power that caused the wild pokémon to act the way they were was trying to cause chaos amongst captured pokémon as well. Doubt filled her mind. What if wild pokémon hurt Ash? What if his own pokémon turned against him? Would even his bond with Pikachu save him? And even if he was safe, why didn't he contact his friends or his mother to let them know he was alright? Everything seemed cause fear for Dawn. Doubt ever gnawed at her troubled mind when it came to Ash, and everything seemed to have something to do with Ash ever since the pair parted ways to fulfill their dreams. However, she held onto hope that she would find the friend that was so dear to her heart, and her best lead to Ash, at the moment, was this "Wanderer" that she heard rumors about.

Another crack of thunder sounded, and the rain started falling faster and harder in response. Through the ceiling, Dawn could hear the drops of raining pounding against the rooftop, causing her to look up in concern. The storm clearly wasn't going to let up any time soon, and Dawn felt she was already late enough as it was in her search for the Wanderer.

"We have been getting a lot of storms like this one lately," a voice said behind Dawn. The bluenette turned to see the bartender with plate of food, who merely smiled at Dawn. "They come down from the mountains and rage for two to four hours before disappearing. Funny thing is, they always seem worse than what they give. Almost like the storms are holding back, or something is holding them back. You can't tell because of how hard it is raining, but that storm is full of funnel clouds. Tornados are begging to be unleashed from that thing. But, believe or not, not one has touched the ground. This town should have been destroyed a while back ago from the weather, but we have been oddly lucky."

"Tornados?" Dawn asked with worry as the bartender set her food in front of her. "Why hasn't anyone evacuated if this place is so dangerous?"

"Like I said," the bartender shrugged, "we have been lucky. But with has many storms there have been, and all of them full of possible tornadic activity, the fact that nothing has touched the ground makes me believe that a pokémon is somehow involved. Plus, the people here love this place too much to leave. It's their home, so they stick to it."

Dawn couldn't help but nod. Of course people wouldn't leave! When you are born and raised somewhere, you develop a strong bond it that allows you to call it your "home." Of course, when you are a traveler, "home" is the road. Still, Dawn understood that home to her, as far as being born and raised goes, was where her mother was. However, Dawn could have also just as easily considered being on the road with Ash as her home. As for the oddity of the storms, however, Dawn definitely agreed that there was a pokémon involved, or even several pokémon considering the fact that Mount Coronet was cloaked in storms ever since the events at Mount Pyre and Shamouti Island.

"You made this awfully fast!" Dawn smiled after taking a bite of her food and swallowing. "Let me guess, was a fire type involved?"

"My secret weapon for when I need fast food for a customer," the bartender winked. "Cyndaquil is the perfect answer to a hot grill when I need it!"

Dawn couldn't help but giggle, thinking about how smart it was for the bartender to use a fire type for cooking. She had been an absolute help to Dawn in her moment of trouble, and Dawn couldn't thank the bartender enough for her efforts. Dawn happily took another of the hamburger, thinking about how much Ash would enjoy it here.

"So aside from the storm," the bartender smiled, "may I ask what brought you here?"

"Business, actually," Dawn answered after swallowing her bite. "I'm looking for a friend of mine who disappeared a while back."

"A friend?" the bartender asked. "May I ask who?"

"Ash Ketchum," Dawn answered sadly, tightening her hand around the glass of water that the bartender gave her.

"Ash Ketchum?" a man asked from a corner of the bar. Dawn turned to him. He was tall and wore darker clothing with a padded vest and a construction hat. Hikers of the mountain often wore such an attire for protection, though no hiker attempted to climb Mount Coronet ever since the storms appeared along with the pokémon that would attack humans.

"Yeah," Dawn blinked. "Have you heard anything about him?"

"I've 'eard a lot o' things, miss," the hiker frowned. "All o' them unpleasant. But Ash Ketchum, that one is a 'ard tale to tell, I'd wager."

"Please," Dawn cried desperately, "any information you have will be useful!"

"Well," the hiker started hesitantly but nodded after a moment, "alright, but it's an odd story. It started 'bout three weeks ago, I'd reck'n, and much on a stormy day like today is. Though, every day has been stormy since them clouds settled on Coronet. Ain't ever seen nothin' like it since the day the waters down in the Orange Islands went crazy. Messed with the climate and everything! Anyway, I come to the town and feel the earth shakin' 'neath me. 'Bout lost all me supplies to them cliffs, too! After the earth quit shakin,' out came the meanest lookin' Steelix you ever did seen! Bloody wanker 'bout took me arm off when I tried to get away from 'im! And 'e was mad, too, like somethin' was drivin' 'im to attack me.

So I tried gettin' away, and stared 'eading for the town. Bad idea, though, as 'e kept chasin' me. Felt like whips were at me back the entire time, the wanker! So, as I got closer to the town, out o' the forest came the Wanderer! 'E 'ad pokémon at 'is side and took to drive that Steelix away from the town before 'e could do damage. After 'e saved me, 'e vanished back to the forest. I thought I'd seen the last o' 'im, but no! 'E came back later that night and started askin' anyone 'e could 'bout someone named 'Ketchum.' Strange thing, that was, but I'm lucky to be alive, methinks!"

"I actually remember that night," the bartender frowned. "I told the Wanderer that someone by that name came a week before he showed up, asking about the ruins that appeared in the Coronet range after the storms showed up. As soon as I told him, the Wanderer just left. It was strange, even for me. If they went into that mountain range…."

"Better get used to the idea o' yer friends bein' dead," the hiker finished.

 **Hey, everyone! Sorry for the wait. It was a bit of a struggle trying to think of how this chapter would go. I knew where I wanted it to go, I just wasn't sure on how to write it. However, I think a four-year jump went as well as I could have managed it. As you can already tell from this chapter, it takes a bit of turn of dividing into separate stories. I will try to make so a character's own storyline will have their own chapter, but it seemed fitting to keep the different storylines apart of the same chapter to put emphasis on the fact that a lot is about to happen. (Also, I apologize for the bad grammar (and spelling) used for the hiker character. I cringed at the grammar as I wrote it, but I felt that he needed his own uniqueness. I just went along with it. But, he was still fun to write!)**

 **In either case, I am thinking that I will devoting future chapters to Ash, Misty, Serena, Dawn, May, and any other characters that need such attention respectively. However, at the moment, I think it can be said the those five are my main human characters. Currently I am trying to figure out when I am going to put the backstory history of this story into place. It may not be for a while, but I will try to reveal more when I feel it appropriate. If there is anything you want revealed, please, feel free to drop a comment on the subject in the reviews! As always, comments, criticisms, and all else are welcome. Please review! Thank you again for reading, and have a good day!**


	7. Chapter 6

Pokemon: The Lord of the Elements

 **Hey, everyone! Thank you for your reviews. Sadly, the Pokémon XYZ series is over! To all of my Amourshipping readers, congratulations on Serena kissing Ash! To all my other readers that have other shippings, at least you can hope that Brock will finally try to stop being a horn dog and actually find a good girl, right? Honestly, I'm just happy that Ash got the girl for once! I mean really, guy, 20 years! NOW WIN A FREAKING LEAGUE ALREADY! Though, I won't lie when I say that Pokeshipping and Amourshipping are my top two ships. I can't really decide between the two, though. Pearl and Advanced are tied for third to me, and the rest I just kind of think about.**

 **I can't really put an "overall top," though, as I don't really want to be biased. But I won't lie when I say that I thought for the longest time it would be Misty and Ash forever. After Ash lost at the Hoenn League, I lost interest in the show, but the XY series brought me back, and I can honestly say that I am happy it did. In either case, you may be surprised how I handle the shipping business, though I don't plan on getting to anything major for shipping just yet. Anyway, thank you again for the reviews and I hope you enjoy the chapter! Please review at the end!**

 **P.S.: .delicious – I put in a couple of hints for this chapter. See if you can figure it out!**

Chapter 6

The Grey Wanderer and the Kings Under the Mountain

It had been a few hours since Dawn left the town she took shelter at from the storms of Mount Coronet. Though the skies were still dark and filled with lightning, Dawn took comfort in the fact that the mountain passes provided natural protections from the severe weather. Slowly Dawn moved forward, careful not to slip on the muddy trail, though her true fear at the moment was that the constant rain would cause an eventual landslide. However, her determination to find Ash drove her forward despite the danger. Thankfully, though, the hiker she met at the town tavern gave her information as to where the ruins of Mount Coronet was located. With some much-needed sleep that was able to get in a guest room provided to her from the bartender she met, Dawn felt more than ready to take on the challenge of Mount Coronet. Or, at least, she hoped she would be able to meet the challenge the mountain and its range provided.

She got up early that morning and had a good, warm breakfast to keep her energy up. Until her stay with the bartender, Dawn had mostly fed herself on meals-ready-to-eat that she bought before starting her journey. Thankfully, pokécenters sold such items to trainers for an extremely cheap price. While the food may not have been the best, they were certainly edible and good enough to make sure a trainer had a little comfort in the wilderness. Food, after all, was a luxury on the road, and good food was prized. As Dawn trudged forward through the mud, much to her displeasure, she heard a cry in the distance. Perking her head up, and eyes wide with alert, Dawn released her Prinplup from its pokéball. Prinplup evolved from Dawn's Piplup a year ago after a wild pokémon attempted to attack her. Quickly overpowered by her foe, Piplup evolved to protect Dawn from getting hurt and saved her. Prinplup was twice as big as Piplup was, who was the same height as Ash's Pikachu, and a slightly darker shade of blue. On his head were two golden ridges that extended slightly from him like horns.

Prinplup cried out in anticipation to see his trainer and an eagerness to whatever she asked. Dawn smiled at her old friend and gave a nod, informing the blue penguin that she heard a cry in the distance. Prinplup nodded and the two quickly hurried along, Dawn no longer caring if mud was now splashing on her. When she came to a cliff, Dawn saw below her a trainer clothed in red being attacked by a rather large Onix. Though the trainer attempted grab a pokéball from her yellow fanny pack the Onix was able to stop her from reaching it.

"Prinplup, jump at Onix and use steel wing!" Dawn commanded immediately upon seeing the danger.

"Prin-plup!" the penguin pokémon cried as it jumped high off the cliff and used its wings in order to glide towards Onix. Its wing glowed a bright, white silver-steel, causing the weight of Prinplup's wings to quickly increase the damage of the impact from its fall. Onix shrieked in pain when Prinplup struck a blow to the stone snake's head and the blue penguin did a front flip off of Onix's head to land safely on the ground. Onix shook its head and turned its attention to Prinplup in rage, no longer remembering the threat posed by the trainer it was originally attacking.

"Prinplup, use hydro-pump!" Dawn commanded. "After Onix is soaked, finish it off with ice beam!"

Prinplup cried out furiously and released a powerfully rapid volume of water from its mouth, pushing Onix into a rock wall. However, when Prinplup was going to use ice beam, Onix let out a desperate screech attack to cause the penguin to halt its second attack. Prinplup cried out it pain at it covered its ears. As Onix continued its screech, it angrily thrashed its tail against the mountain, causing a rockslide that was heading directly for Prinplup.

"Prinplup!" Dawn cried in terror as she watched the boulders fall towards her partner.

"Blaziken, kick those boulders out of the way!" the other trainer called out and threw her pokéball to release a red and white feathered pokémon that looked like it had the body of a person and the head of a falcon. The pokémon quickly jumped and kicked the boulders away from crushing Prinplup, causing Onix to cry out in rage.

"Blaziken, jump high and use double kick!" the other trainer shouted.

"Prinplup, use ice beam once Blaziken is out of the way!" Dawn cried out with determination.

The two pokemon quickly took action, Blaziken jumping high and soaring above Onix while Prinplup took aim, fire in its eyes. Blaziken then dove straight Onix before throwing blow after blow with its long legs at the rock snake pokémon. After Onix once again was thrusted against the rock wall, Blaziken pushed its legs against the rock snake and made a backflip to land next to Prinplup. Prinplup then cried loudly as it shot an ice beam at its foe, causing Onix to be completely encased in ice except for its nose. Despite the creature trying to kill both pokemon and people, Prinplup could not stoop to the level of the aggressive pokemon and hoped that the Onix would one day stop such behavior. Dawn let out a sigh of relief, but that sigh was soon followed by a yelp of surprise when Blaziken jumped to the top of cliff, grabbed Dawn, and jumped back to its trainer at the bottom of the cliff.

"Hey, Dawn! Long time, no see," the trainer smiled. She was a brunette with long hair came down to rest between her shoulder blades and blue eyes that were like shinning sapphires. She was about Dawn's height, and pretty, though Dawn was arguably the more femininely dressed of the two.

"May?" Dawn blinked for a moment before letting a wide smile paint her face. Dawn quickly closed the gap between the two girls and hugged her friend of many years tightly, which was returned by the brunette. "Oh my gosh, how are you? When did you come to Sinnoh?"

"About a week ago," May laughed. "I actually came looking for you. I found out through your mom and Professor Rowan that you were traveling on the east side of the Coronet mountain range, so I took a small plane to Veilstone City and had a friend who owed me drive to one of the mountain trails. After that, I found myself wandering through the mountains with no idea how to find you!"

"Looks like I found you instead," Dawn smiled.

"And good thing you did, too," May nodded before looking towards the frozen Onix. "That Onix was out for blood. What on earth could be causing the pokémon to be acting like that?"

"That's what I intend to find out," Dawn frowned, thinking about all the horror the world had to endure. "Why were you looking for me, anyway? Did you have any news of Ash?!"

"No," May shook her head sadly, causing the momentary bout of excitement to extinguish from Dawn's eyes. "Nothing. But that's actually why I came. I think Ash is here."

"Why?" Dawn eyed her friend curiously. "What makes you think that?"

"It started a few weeks ago, actually," May started, looking upwards while placing a finger bellow her lips as she recounted her past events. "I had placed a call to Misty to see if she had any news from Kanto after exploring Hoenn. I knew you were unavailable, and so was Serena, as she has been trying to figure out the ruins near the megalith, but I did get some information from her in a text: Dawn, the ruins that are popping up across the world… they have two things in common."

"What would that be?" Dawn asked.

"Their architecture is in some way related to the architecture of ruins in the Sinnoh region and the Orange Islands," May stated. "Dawn, whatever is going on, I get the feeling it's too closely related. These ruins are appearing everywhere, but they more intact than anything I have seen. Something isn't right!"

"Okay, let's say that whatever is going on is related to a bunch of ruins," Dawn thought out loud, "what could the ruins have to do with it?"

"When Ash and I were in Kanto together," May said, "a little way from Pewter City, we came across the ruins Pokélantis. Ash did something there that made him not right. He was possessed by the spirit of some evil king that wanted to capture a Ho-oh and take over the world."

"Weren't the people of Pokélantis seafarers?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, they were," May nodded. "Supposedly their original home was destroyed south of the Orange Islands. Those who escaped settled in the Orange Islands and made war on the Kanto region. They expanded quickly, but never got past the mountains where Mount Moon is at. Not being able to expand east any further, they tried expanding west into the Johto region. The settlers on the north-western slopes of Mount Silver supposedly drove them out. Those settlers were from Sinnoh, and built temples to Arceus. It just so happened that the king of Pokélantis was cruel enough that he enticed the people of the Orange Islands to rebel against him. Between the people of the Orange Islands and people of Mount Silver, the Pokélantians were destroyed. To celebrate that victory and to show that they were now one people, they founded the city of Pokémopolis at the southern foot of Mount Silver, which is close to Pallet Town."

"What did they do?" Dawn asked with curiosity.

"Supposedly they near took over the entire world through cultural assimilation," May shrugged. "They were highly advanced with technology, but their experiments got the better of them and they wound up destroying themselves."

"What?" Dawn smiled. "Did they build a super computer that killed them all?"

"Close," May laughed. "They tried creating super pokémon. They succeeded, but the pokémon that were made were overly aggressive and destroyed everything in their path. So, those who managed to survive made stone pokéball-like objects that held the creatures. For those that were particularly dangerous, they made relics that would hold the creatures, but intentionally made them not appear as pokéballs to prevent an accidental release."

"I think I remember hearing a story like that from Ash," Dawn now frowned. "Are you telling me these pokémon are creatures that the people of Pokémopolis tried to imprison?"

"I wish I was," May shook her head sadly. "At least we would know how to beat them: just find an oversized Jigglypuff. This seems more complicated."

"Complicated how?" Dawn asked.

"Well, it seems the ruins that have been found are older," May said quietly.

"Older?" Dawn frowned. "That makes no sense. You said that these were Pokémopolis ruins. How can they be older?"

"If they aren't Pokémopolis ruins," May frowned. "Trust me, I looked at them as many times as I could. The ruins at the Orange Islands and Mount Coronet are the oldest, but they are still too similar."

"Similar how?" Dawn asked, starting to get impatient.

"None of the ruins of Pokémopolis have depictions of Arceus and eighteen Mew surrounding it," May answered. "Whatever is going on, the pokémon can sense it, and it is driving them crazy."

"So what does this have to do with looking for me?" Dawn asked.

May looked up at Mount Coronet, a little bit of fear shrouding her heart as she gazed at the menacing storms above her. May didn't know why, but her heart said she was right in her guesses. She needed to find Ash, and her only guide so far was her heart.

"You and I are looking for Ash for the same reason," May answered honestly. "Mount Coronet has secrets inside it that fill me with hope that Ash is here, just as the sea of the Orange Islands has secrets under its depths. Ash has to be here. I know it. I sought you out because we need to find him, Dawn. I sought you out because this place is dangerous, and I don't want to be too late."

Dawn looked at her friend with sympathy. May was right, Mount Coronet was extremely dangerous now, and her heart feared Ash's demise as much as May's did. Dawn would not allow Ash to be the cause of his own death. She would find him, and she was glad that she had help.

"Alright," Dawn smiled. "We'll find Ash, and we'll drag him back home kicking and screaming if we have to."

May smiled and nodded. The two returned their Pokémon and started their long march up the eastern slopes of Mount Coronet. For two days, they slowly trudged up the mountain, with only their hope that Ash was alive keeping them going. However, much to their relief, and their worry, the further up they climbed, the less wild pokémon they saw. Some pokémon ran in fear of the girls, others tried to attack them. However, their combined skills allowed them to fend off any pokémon that dared to challenge them. Thankfully for the two, they had enough potions and berries to keep their pokémon happy and healthy during the climb. Yet, even as their legs started to give waiver on them, they saw their destination in the side of Mount Coronet: a structure carved into the rock on the mountain that was shaped like a temple. Into the rock was carved images of four columns and housing roof like one would see at a courthouse or a bank. The opening to the structure was large and inviting, but hole in the mountain was pitch black.

"We'll want to be careful," Dawn said, looking at the mountainside. "Whatever is in there, one thing is for sure, these people didn't make their temples on the mountain, it _is_ the mountain."

"What do you think could be there?" May frowned before looking to her bluenette friend.

"I guess we'll find out," Dawn answered before giving a slight gulp. "But I suspect its older and far worse than Zubats."

"Yeah," May said nervously. "I was afraid of that."

The friends started towards the opening of the temple, ready to face whatever was inside. However, even as the rain poured on them once again and the lightning flashed over them, they were stopped by someone who came out of the temple. He was cloaked and robed in grey, though some color of his eyes could be seen through his dark hooding: a hint of grey-purple.

"Wh-who are you?" May asked nervously, only to be met by silence from the figure.

"That's the Grey Wanderer!" Dawn said in awe, her eyes wide knowing she finally caught up to him.

"You should not be here," the Wanderer said. "You must go back."

"Please," Dawn took a step forward, "we're looking for our friend. We think he's here."

"No one is here," the Wanderer answered. "But you are here when you should not be. Go back where it's safe."

"We have to try to look!" May cried. "Please, let us pass. Help us, sir!"

"I cannot help you," the Wanderer said, getting annoyed. "Leave, now, and do not come back. Forget that you saw me!"

"NO!" Dawn shouted. "You need to let us pass. And if you don't, we will make you!"

"Is that a challenge?" the Wanderer asked, scoffing slightly.

"You bet it is!" May shouted as well, drawing her pokéball along with Dawn. "We won't let you keep us from Ash!"

"Ash?" the Wanderer asked. "Ash Ketchum?"

The girls nodded, but still kept in a battling position out of caution. The Wanderer, however, merely stared at them, looking as if were reading them like books. He let out a sigh and seemed to relax a bit.

"I do not remember either of you traveling you Ash Ketchum," the Wanderer, keeping his gaze on the two women. "But your hearts and eyes tell me you know him and are his friends. Why are you looking for him?"

"We want to bring him home," Dawn answered with tears in her eyes, filled with hope that she might have finally found Ash. The girls put their pokéballs away, no longer feeling threatened.

"That's not possible," the Wanderer answered.

"What?" Dawn frowned. "Why not? Who are you to tell us that we can't help and protect our friend?!"

"I'm looking for him, too," the Wander said. "I was going to look here, but then you came."

"Then let us come with you!" May demanded, fire burning in her with determination to find Ash.

"You don't know the danger of the request you make," the Wander chuckled. "I am not responsible for you."

"We only want to find him," Dawn sniffled, wiping her tears away. "Please, he's our friend. We want to make sure he's safe. His mother is heartbroken without him. _We're_ heartbroken without him."

"Better that you learn to bury those feelings now before your selfishness helps to destroy the world," the Wanderer said coldly, staring at the girls. However, he sighed after a moment. "Very well, you may come, but do not let your guard down."

Down they descended into the gaping darkness of Mount Coronet, the only light to guide coming from the Grey Wanderer. A sense of foreboding fell upon the girls the further they came away from the entrance of the temple until at last torches around them suddenly sparked to life. All around them were pictures of pokémon, many of were pictures ancient pictures of Mew, and their number was always eighteen.

"What is this place?" May asked with awe.

"An ancient place," the Wanderer answered plainly. "Far older than humans remember, and cleverly hidden so humans would not discover its secrets."

The girls observed the wall paintings quietly, sometimes seeing pictures of other legendary pokémon, but always seeing the eighteen Mew in a circle together. From time to time, there were pictures of an egg between the Mew, and other times there were pictures of Arceus between them. However, closer to the end of the descending staircase that seemed to be endless, they came to a picture of the Mew around a pokémon that appeared to be Arceus, only this Arceus was mainly colored black with a white underbelly and a blood-red ring around it instead of a golden ring.

"That's the strangest picture of Arceus I've ever seen," Dawn frowned at the picture, feeling a sense of dread as she gazed at it.

"That's not Arceus," the Wanderer said, stopping but not turning to look at the picture. "You ought not ask questions you don't want to know the answer to. Too often do such answers lead to more harm than good."

"But what is it?" Dawn asked. "Why would something like that be on the walls?"

"I suspect it's a warning," the Wanderer answered.

"A warning for what?" May asked.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be down here," the Wanderer let out a grim chuckle before heading to the opening at the bottom of the stairs.

The girls frowned at each other but followed the Wanderer through the opening and into a great hall from which there were eighteen different paths that could be taken. The hall itself was gold colored and had several columns to support the wait of the rest of the mountain above it. In the center of the hall was a golden brazier that held a great fire to light the room, and inscribed the brazier were many runes.

"What is this place?" May asked in awe.

"A temple to Mew," the Wanderer answered, gazing slowly around. "And to Arceus."

"This seems all too familiar to me," Dawn frowned, thinking back to the time she, Brock, and Ash had to prevent Arceus from destroying a town and family line the pokémon thought betrayed him. "All that's missing is a machine that tells how the different dimensions are in relation to each other."

"They are closer together than you think," the Wanderer said. "And all connected."

"How do you know?" Dawn asked quickly, having her doubts that the Wanderer knew what people could only theorize about.

"When you travel as much as I have," he said, "you see things that may seem impossible, but are actually just improbable."

Past the brazier, at the end of the hall, was a case of golden steps before a large throne. A beam of light came from an opening in the mountain that hit the head of the throne. Above it was again the inscribed image of a Mew that gazed out over the hall like a guardian.

"Mew," the Wanderer said softly, never taking eyes from the image. "How often must I see you where I travel before I get answers? Where are you, I wonder? When will I see you again?"

"You've seen Mew?" Dawn asked.

"Yes," the Wanderer said, not turning to look at the girl. "Once, maybe twice. Your friend has seen Mew as well."

Dawn looked to May, who just looked at the Wanderer in shock.

"H-how did you know that?" May asked.

"I just do," the Wanderer said before looking to a passage with a closed eye over it. "But never mind that. We need to go, now!"

Quickly the Wanderer went to the passage and the girls went after him, following him through the winding hall. At the end of the hall, a bright light could be seen coming from the room that the hall ran too. Standing, in the light, however, were two figures: one with what appeared to a Pikachu on its shoulder, and the other a floating creature with a long tail.

"ASH!" May and Dawn cried out, running towards the light.

The figure turned to the shout that the girls made, along with the floating creature, but the moment they turned, the light disappeared and they along with it. And suddenly, when the girls stopped, they realized they were inside a tomb, as there was a sarcophagus at the end of the room. The Wanderer slowly neared the tomb and studied it for a moment.

"So this place _does_ exist," the Wanderer chuckled grimly.

"You knew all along?!" May frowned. "Did you know Ash would be here, too?"

"I knew nothing," the Wanderer answered. "I only suspected. As for what this place is, it is as you see it. A tomb. A tomb for kings, actually."

"Why would a king be buried in this awful place?" Dawn grumbled.

"Mount Coronet is the beginning of pokémon," the Wanderer said. "They probably chose here to be close to them in death. As for the throne in the great hall, it appears they came here to die. Eighteen halls, eighteen tombs, eighteen kings."

The Wanderer scoffed as the girls stared at him. They were unsure what to make of the situation. They were certain they had just seen Ash, and were once again cut off from him. What's more, they both now had doubts as to whether or not the Wanderer was being honest with them.

"We have stayed here too long," the Wanderer spoke after a long silence. "Let the dead rest, their secrets are long since destroyed."

"You're hiding something," Dawn growled. "Do you know where Ash went?"

"If I did, wouldn't I tell his friends?" the Wanderer asked in return. "I can only suspect. Even if that was Ash, he went somewhere I cannot follow. Not without help, at any rate."

"Then tell us how to get there!" May cried, grabbing onto the Wanderer's cloak in desperate hope.

"You'd have to die," the Wanderer said. "I doubt you are ready to take that leap."

May let go of his robe and backed away slowly as tears began to fill her eyes. Dawn, on the other hand, looked at the Wanderer in silent horror, unable to believe that Ash was dead.

"N-no," May said under her breath, trying not to sob. "Ash wouldn't do that! He wouldn't leave us like that!"

"No, he isn't dead," the Wanderer assured the distraught girls. "But the only ones can go where he is are ghosts and Mew. And even then, only certain Mew are capable of such power."

"How can we trust what you are saying?" Dawn asked quietly, almost as if the answer would be enough to break her spirit and render her incapable of going on.

"You have to take a leap of faith," the Wanderer shrugged. "Be like Ash, who you both clearly care for. Believe in him and yourselves."

The girls looked at each other for a moment, trying to find and bring out each other's strength before looking back to the Wanderer and nodding. The Wanderer then led them out of the tomb and directed them to the nearest Pokémon Center, claiming that they would need their pokémon at their very best if they hoped to find Ash. They girls thanked the Wanderer for his help after that and turned to leave.

"Wait," the Wanderer called out, causing the girls to turn back to him and look at him. "Please, tell Misty that the pokémon at Mount Quena are safe, and that the lake is still pure."

Dawn and May looked to each other for a moment in confusion, wondering how the Wanderer knew about Misty, but they decided to drop it and nodded to the Wanderer, making the promise. For a long time, the Wanderer watched the girls travel down the mountain, becoming smaller and smaller to the sight until they disappeared from his gaze at last. Slowly he reached for his hood and removed it, revealing a cat-like face of grey color.

 _"So, Mew,"_ Mewtwo thought, _"you have brought Ash Ketchum to the Distortion World…. But why, I wonder…. What is there other than Giratina? Why did you have me search for him if you had him the whole time?"_

 _"You shall find out soon,"_ a voice answered. _"As for why, have you not seen the division? His duty lies to the destruction of the Enemy."_

 _"Many have had such a problem,"_ Mewtwo answered. _"I would have thought that you knew it was not the death of duty."_

 _"I know it isn't,"_ the voice said. _"Just as I know that if Ash falls, there must be an heir. The gems will choose no other."_

 _"Is it not better to have many?"_ Mewtwo asked.

 _"Perhaps,"_ the voice said. _"But the gems will only choose one. But if that one falls, then perhaps they shall choose another. You may be right. But still, a divided heart could spell doom for us all."_

 _"Then I shall watch the women,"_ Mewtwo offered.

 _"Good,"_ the voice responded. _"Yes, very good. Their importance will likely be what helps us bring our cousins out of darkness. Farewell."_

And with that, the voice faded from his mind. Mewtwo looked off into the horizon before donning his hood again. Time what short, he knew that, but he couldn't help but wonder how long "short" was.

 **Well, that's it for this chapter. For those wondering, no, I am not think along the lines of "harem." Trust me, with what I have in mind,** _ **that**_ **will make much more sense later. While I do find the concept of pok** **é** **-harems funny, and Ash does get all the ladies in one way or another, I would think his character a bit more honorable than that. I'm thinking that my next chapter will be Ash-centric. Questions, obviously, need to be answered!**

 **Anyway, I'm interested to hear what everyone thinks! Please, post comments on who you think the antagonist is! I'm hoping in my next chapter to write a little more on the abilities of the gems. I'm particularly excited to write about cross-evolution and my introduction to "mega cross-evolution." To the first ten (non-guest) reviewers of this chapter, I will share a special sneak peek (when I have it ready, of course,) of the next chapter! To the first five (non-guest) reviewers, however, I will share a little about the background histories I plan on using for this story!**

 **Please review! All comments, criticisms, thoughts, theories, ideas, and all else are welcome! Have a good day, everyone!**


	8. Chapter 7

Pokemon: The Lord of the Elements

 **Hey, everyone! Thank you for your reviews! I do have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the Pokémon: Sun and Moon anime. Of course, when you have low expectations, you are surprised the most! In any case, I felt like part of the story was going to be a bit long, so it will likely be done if four parts. One chapter for every year Ash was missing! So, to all of my reviewers that got sneak previews, don't worry! The chapter your preview features is coming and is a part of this storyline! I hope you enjoy this next chapter! Please review at the end of the chapter!**

 **(Warning: This chapter contains tobacco. Viewer digression is advised.)**

Chapter 7

The Heir of the Medallion

Part One

 _(Four years earlier….)_

It was late in the night when Ash had finished packing his things together. Almost two in the morning, to be exact. It had been a slow process, though, as he did not want to alert anyone to his nocturnal activity. Outside his window, Ash could see the silver moon shining brightly in the night sky, which gave the atmosphere a shade of dark blue rather than black. The moon itself seemed as if it were a great eye that was observing his every move. He felt naked under it, like the moon was calling out to him to think about the people he cared for instead of just running off into the dark of night. Yet, despite the feeling of guilt he suffered for what he was about to do, he welcomed the company of soft light that was provided by the moon.

He looked over to Pikachu, who was still asleep on his bed. The yellow, electric mouse was curled up in a ball, his ears twitching slightly as a clear response to whatever dream he was having. Ash couldn't help but smile at his longtime friend and partner.

 _"Probably dreaming of ketchup,"_ Ash mused with a quiet chuckle as he walked over to his bed and sat down softly on it.

"I'm sorry we'll be leaving again so soon, buddy," Ash said softly as he rested a gently hand on Pikachu's back. "I know you were excited to see mom again and spend time at home."

Ash looked back towards the window. It was slightly cracked open, allowing the gentle breeze of summer to pass into the bedroom. The breeze was enough to plant gentle kisses on Ash and Pikachu's skins like a mother would gently kiss her child goodnight after tucking that child in for bed. Again, the moon caught Ash's attention, as well as the stars around it. His face, which was earlier hard with the work of packing, couldn't help but soften.

"I don't know why," Ash started softly, "but something feels wrong. I need to figure this out. The dream about that girl that I had…."

Ash looked to his partner and gave a sad smile. Pikachu would likely understand when he woke up, but that small comfort could not help the fact that Ash did not fully understand. All he knew for certain was that he was about to be like his father, running off without a trace.

"The dream seemed too real to me," Ash said, looking down to the floor and resting his elbows on his thighs in quiet thought. "I just wish I knew what to do or where to go. But, my heart tells me that going alone will keep mom and our friends safe."

Ash sighed deeply, hating himself for what he felt was the right thing to do. Slowly, and with emotional pain to his heart, he got up off the bed and made his way to his desk. To his mother, and to each of his friends, he wrote letters. Each one took its toll to Ash, but his letters to Serena and Misty caused him greater heartache. However, the letters to the girls wasn't enough for him as he also took the handkerchiefs Misty had given to him and Serena had returned to him and stuffed them in the envelopes of the letters.

It was four in the morning when Ash finished everything he needed to and he took Pikachu in his arms before exiting his bedroom. The halls of the Ketchum residence filled with snoring, much to Ash's amusement, but the dark still made the journey out of the house seem long and wearisome. Each step he took filled him with a deeper sadness for leaving than the one before. However, Ash still found himself in the living room eventually and nearing the front door.

On the couch near the front door and in front of the main window, however, Ash saw Serena's sleeping form. He couldn't help but smile softly, thinking back to the times of how angelic she looked when sleeping during their journey together in Kalos. He wasn't sure how long he stared at her, wondering if he was making the right choice, but he did know that his legs were willed to draw nearer to her. Ash looked down at her and couldn't help but notice the blue ribbon in her hand that he gave her so many years ago. Serena clung to that ribbon as a young child would cling to a security blanket. It calmed her in her darkest moments, and Ash remembered that from the emails she would send him. Slowly he kneeled down in front of her and gently lifted his hand to brush the hair from her face and behind her ear.

"I'm sorry, Serena," Ash whispered sadly before gently pressing his lips to the top of her head. "I'm sorry for everything."

Serena made a slight movement to the touch and smiled softly in her sleep. When Ash pulled away, his thoughts went back to the day she kissed his lips in a promise that they would see each other again. She was true to her word: they did see each other again, and Serena did truly become a more beautiful and mature woman. But the kiss he gave to her wasn't a promise to return, but the softest request for forgiveness. He wasn't sure whose heart that kiss would break more, but Ash was suddenly thankful that she wasn't awake to find the answer to that question.

"Goodbye, Serena," Ash whispered again before slowly getting up and making his way to the door.

Reaching for the doorknob and resting his hand there, Ash took one last look at the home that held so much love inside of it. He hesitated, though, hating the thought of leaving without a word. Yet, in the back of his mind, though he couldn't explain it, he felt that leaving was safe for his mother and friends. Maybe he was being selfish, maybe he was doing the right thing. A flash of Misty tore through his thoughts: thoughts of their last parting, thoughts of the secret tears Brock had told Ash that Misty held back until he left, the fact that he was about to leave without saying goodbye to her.

He couldn't help but shake his head. Ash's goodbye to Misty was in his letter to her. He couldn't say goodbye to her like he said goodbye to Serena, even though the pain of his goodbye to Serena was like a knife to the heart. His relationship with Serena was different than his relationship with Misty, yet also similar. The kiss he had given Serena was something they shared together. It was the symbol of their unity, the unspoken promise that they would always find each other again. He couldn't share that symbol with anyone else, though there were symbols of his unity with Misty, May, and Dawn: his high-fives with Dawn, the pokémon contest ribbon he shared with May, and, with Misty, he shared the bike that was fixed by the Nurse Joy of Viridian City, as well as the Cascade Badge he and Misty fought over.

Ash could have also counted sharing Togepi with Misty, but Togepi was family member between himself, Misty, Brock, and even Pikachu. May had Manaphy, though she and Ash protected the 'Prince of the Sea' together, but Ash's connection to May and Manaphy wasn't as long as his connection to Misty and Togepi. Still, the father, mother, and child relationship could be seen in Ash's time with both May and Manaphy, and Misty and Togepi.

He shook his head again. No, Ash couldn't say goodbye to Misty like he said goodbye to Serena. If he did, he would admit to himself the sad truth that his heart was divided. He couldn't do that; it would hurt the girls he had come to care for. It would be unfair to them. He needed to be selfish and leave before he hurt either Misty or Serena. And so, Ash at last turned the doorknob and quietly, yet quickly, stepped once again into the outside world.

"Vee!" Ash heard a bark behind him after taking a few steps from the house. He turned around to see his father's Eevee in front of the house, glaring at him.

"Eevee?" Ash asked with some surprise, completely forgetting about the multi-evolution pokémon. Eevee, however, wasted no time in taking a few steps towards his master's son. He looked up at Ash, a fire in eyes. Though Ash didn't know what the fire was for, Eevee's desire was to avenge his master.

"You want to come with me, don't you?" Ash asked softly, to which Eevee gave a nod.

"Eevee, I would feel much better if I knew you were protecting mom," Ash said sadly, looking to the house. "Trust me, she needs you."

"Ee vee vee!" the pokémon cried out.

"I'm sorry," Ash frowned and shook his head. "I don't understand."

Eevee glared at Ash for a moment before his eyes came to the medallion at Ash's neck. Softening his face, Eevee stretched out his to Ash, pointing at the medallion. Ash looked down and grabbed at the old family jewel, to which Eevee nodded.

"Vee ee vee," Eevee seemed to beckon, pointing to the ground.

Ash knelt down to come eye to eye level with the multi-evolution pokémon. When Ash was low enough, Eevee moved forward and touched the medallion. The gems of the medallion then began to glow for a moment as Ash watched, but the light faded as quickly as it came.

"Can you understand me now?" Ash heard. He looked around for a moment before looking back to Eevee, who gazed at Ash expectantly.

"Y-you can talk?" Ash asked in shock.

"No," Eevee answered in amusement. "At least, not the human speech. But you can understand me now. The medallion has many wonderful abilities like that."

"I don't understand," Ash said, wondering if he was about to wake up from a dream.

"No, I wouldn't think so," Eevee smiled. "You just got the medallion, and you have no clue how to use it. Which is why I'm going with you."

"I need you stay with mom," Ash frowned. "She'll need you."

"Delia will be fine without me," Eevee said before making a low growl in continuation. "Besides… I need to go with you. Rob was my master and friend, and he commanded me to protect both you and Delia as his last wish. I protect her by protecting you. Going with you is the only way I can avenge him."

"Dad was murdered?" Ash's eyes widened.

"By Team Rocket," Eevee nodded. "Besides, Delia has Rob's other pokemon, who gave them to your 'Professor Oak.' He has added Rob's collection to your own. I guarantee that she is very safe."

Ash looked to the medallion and then back to Eevee before nodding, and the pokemon couldn't help but smile at Ash in return. And so they left into the dark of night, the twilight before the dawn in the eastern skies. Quickly and quietly they wandered north under the cover of darkness, though the first lights of dawn came shortly after they were outside of Pallet town. It was when the light of morning had gotten stronger that Pikachu had finally woken up. However, when he woke up, all he was aware of was the fact that he was moving under trees.

"Ahh!" Pikachu screamed in shock an alarm, producing a powerful bolt of electricity. "Team Rocket finally got me! TEAM ROCKET FINALLY GOT ME!"

Ash screamed in pain, thrusting sounds of chaos into what was originally the peaceful sounds upon the morning air: the lighthearted chirps of Pidgey, the gentle breezes that brushed against the leafy trees, the sound of the running water of the river to the north of Pallet, all of that beauty broken by the sound of Ash and Pikachu. However, it didn't take long for Pikachu to realize that he was shocking Ash, and immediately stopped. Though, Ash was left looking as if he just got out of bed and was in need of shower.

"G-good morning to you t-to, Pikachu," Ash struggled to say before collapsing to the ground.

"Ash?" Pikachu asked. "Where are we?"

"A few miles north of Pallet," Eevee answered, keeping his gaze on his master's son. "That is an excellent thunderbolt, by the way."

"Uh, thanks," Pikachu rubbed the back of his head. "Why are you here?"

"Your master agreed for me to follow," Eevee sat, focusing his gaze on Pikachu. "He felt it wise to leave Pallet."

"Why?" Pikachu frowned. He and Ash were known to jump into any adventure that presented itself, but the pair usually agreed on such an undertaking first instead of Ash simply running off into the blue without him knowing about it. "Why would Ash just leave home without telling me?"

"Because I have no idea where we're going or why," Ash groaned before sitting up to look at his longtime partner for the past ten years.

"Y-you can understand me?" Pikachu's mouth dropped. "How is that possible?"

"The medallion," Eevee said. "I remember a time when Rob would use it to communicate with all kinds of pokémon."

"I don't suppose dad ever figured out what it is, did he?" Ash rubbed away some charred hair from his arm.

"It's a medallion," Eevee rolled his eyes. "But I suppose you are asking about its origins. The short answer is no. Rob never found out who made it or why. All he ever knew was in the letter that you read. It is the embodiment of each and every pokémon elemental type, as well as a driving force to tap into the true power, in strength and evolutionary, of any pokémon. But it is dangerous. Its power uses a person's strength of will. Anyone who isn't strong enough can be killed by it, or kill a pokémon in its use. It is a weapon and a shield. It will claim your life, just as it claimed the life of Rob and everyone before him."

With that, Eevee took his eyes away from Ash's and started again on the road. Ash and Pikachu exchanged looks of concern, but both got up and followed Eevee. Where the three were going to go, they weren't sure, but they kept walking. Eventually, they turned west, heading towards the mountain range that divided the Kanto and Johto regions. Four days after leaving Pallet Town, they found themselves at the foot of Mount Silver.

"Mount Silver," Eevee mumbled, looking up to the heights of the mountain. "An interesting choice to run to. Why here?"

"I don't know," Ash shrugged. "I feel… called here. And my heart tells me that I need to follow that calling."

"You certainly have an interesting way for us all to die," Eevee chuckled.

"I don't have to outrun the Ursaring, Eevee" Pikachu smiled grimly, "I just have to outrun you."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Ash mumbled. "We need to move forward, and it is far better that we are here in the summer and not the winter."

"Even without the snows, the terrain is still dangerous," Eevee said. "I was here with your father once, and I can tell you that that visit was tame in comparison to the news I heard about this place."

"Then let's be careful," Ash looked up at the mountain in determination.

"And what will we do when we climb this mountain?" Eevee asked. "Do you even know where we are going?"

"No," Ash said plainly. "All I know is that I am going where my heart – no, where my gut tells me."

"Ash," Pikachu frowned slightly, jumping onto his master's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

"It's alright, Pikachu," Ash said sadly. "If I followed my heart, we wouldn't be here. We would be home."

Pikachu let out a soft sigh. For the few days that they had traveled, Pikachu had come to notice the heaviness that Ash was carrying on his heart and mind. Pikachu knew that Ash would have rather had stayed home, if not for his mother, for Misty and Serena. There were nights when Pikachu would come to hear Ash saying the names of girls he traveled with in his sleep. Serena's and Misty's names were always the names he spoke the most often, and with the most care, as if saying the names were like saying a prayer.

"If we truly have left to protect them," Pikachu reasoned, "then leaving was the best way to follow your heart. Do not regret your decision to protect the people you care about."

"Rob would have done the same thing," Eevee added. "He did do the same thing. You are not alone in your choice, nor was it the wrong one to make. Rob would have been proud of you. He was already very proud of you."

Ash and Pikachu looked to Eevee, who merely smiled at them. Ash smiled back and Pikachu relaxed slightly at the knowledge that his friend and master was encouraged for the moment. After the smile, however, Ash looked back up at the mountain, which seemed to mock the trio with its intimidating height and appearance. Everyone knew Mount Silver was the treacherous mountain, filled with multitudes of powerful wild pokémon, natural disasters such as forest fires and landslides, powerful winds that would throw anyone off the mountain and to their death, and one poorly maintained path that only lead to a small shop on a hill that overlooked the roads to Viridian City and the Indigo Plateau. From the shop to the top of the mountain, there was no trail, only naturally made paths that were carved out by the pokémon that lived on the mountain.

A dense, dark green forest grew around the mountain, crawling up about half its height, and the mountain itself was a little over fourteen thousand feet tall. Snow crowned its peak majestically, and glittered in a silvery array that got the mountain its name. The crown was a challenge to anyone who was brave or foolish enough to test their strength against the strength of the mountain; and of the few who tried, many failed. Yet, despite her cruelty, no one could deny that Mount Silver was beautiful. She was that truly awesome and dangerous combination of being beautiful and deadly: a quality that Ash had found himself increasingly attracted to over the years. Even as he gazed at the mountain, Ash found himself thinking of the women he traveled with. Flowers, they were, as beautiful as roses, yet thorned.

Misty and Dawn were roses with many thorns, and while their thorns were long and threatening, and certainly could draw blood, they were not sharp. It fit their personalities well. The two were quick to anger, and certainly struck fear into those they didn't like, but it was quick to understand their bark was far worse than their bite once one got to know them. Serena was the rose with the least thorns, and the smallest, but also the sharpest. During their travels together, many had come to love Serena for her performances, and it was often said that those who fell from her favor received the deepest and saddest of wounds to the heart. Ash couldn't help but laugh to himself whenever he would hear that. No one had ever come close to receiving the wound he received from her, and such a wound could only be given to a person she cared for that disappointed her.

No, no one had ever fallen out of Serena's favor, only Ash did, and it was only once. Yet, however much the disappointment he caused Serena shamed him, Serena's anger towards him pushed him to be even better than he was. Sometimes Ash thought about that day in the forest of Snowbelle City, and it drove him to be "the Ash she knew" every day. But now he wondered if she had come to hate him for running away again. Ash owed his success to all of friends, but to Serena in particular. If anyone could bring him out of the darkness of his mind, she could. It was her gift to cause people to smile. When all would be said and done, Ash knew he would do anything and everything he could to cause Serena to smile again. However, as dangerous a rose Serena was, there was one other Ash felt was more dangerous: May.

May had more thorns to her than Serena, but less than Misty and Dawn. The bite of May, however, laid not in her anger like the girls, but in her desire to protect those she cared for. In that way, she was the most like Ash in the sense that she would protect Max with her life as Ash would protect Pikachu and all his other pokémon with his. Of course, Ash saw qualities of himself in every one of the girls he traveled with. It was hard for him to say which was more like him, but he knew they shared qualities with him, and he in return. He wasn't sure why, but while he traveled with Serena, she increasingly became a distraction to him. He often found her on his mind, and he consistently caught himself looking at her when they were taking a break from their journey.

Of course, the same could have been said for Misty. Perhaps it was because Ash wanted to make sure the girls were okay. Perhaps he needed a source of inspiration, and found that inspiration both in his pokémon and those he traveled with. Though his pokemon were who kept him fighting on, it was his dumb luck and his friends that pulled him through so he could keep fighting for his pokémon. Yet, Misty wasn't there, and neither was Serena. They couldn't push him forward, but whatever the dark feeling was in Ash's heart that told him to leave so he could protect them did. They didn't need protecting, obviously; they were exceptional pokemon trainers, but Ash was always quick to throw himself in front of danger to protect his friends.

Ash put his hand to the medallion that hung at his chest. A small smile painted his face. How many times had Serena touched the blue ribbon that he gave her all those years ago that clung to her dress and hung over her heart? However, despite thinking about Serena, the medallion had nothing to do with her. She didn't give it to him, nor did he wish her to have an association with it. As far as Ash was concerned, the medallion drove him away from Serena, and that filled him with a little anger. However, Ash felt a slight warmth coming from the medallion. Taking his hand off of it and looking down, he saw four of the gems glowing faintly: one representing fire, one representing water, once representing fairies, and the last representing fighting. Ash smiled again. Perhaps he wasn't as alone as he thought. His friends were in his heart and mind, and he only needed to remember them to grant him the courage to carry on.

"Eevee," Ash looked at his dad's old friend, "what do you know of Mount Silver?"

"Aside from the fact that it's dangerous?" Eevee chuckled. "Some say it's cursed, and for good reason, too! Few get the chance to go up that mountain, and many fail in the attempt. But what makes it cursed is the rumor that people come here to die. What makes the rumor strange is that those who supposedly _do_ come to die simply vanish. Plenty have died on this mountain in accidents, but their bodies are always found. When your father was your age, twenty people attempted to climb this mountain. One succeeded, seven failed and came back, nine died in accidents, and three vanished without a trace.

It is mad to come here, that much is certainly true, but those who do often want to prove themselves in front of the world. They want to immortalized in the mountain itself. Here, it is not you against wild pokémon, it isn't you against other trainers, it is you against the mountain. And if you aren't worthy, if you aren't prepared, the mountain _will_ defeat you. And if the mountain does defeat you, where will you go? There isn't a person in the world who does not now know your name, would-be Champion of Kanto. Will you risk more dangerous road? There are few places as dangerous as here, and those that are more dangerous are often simply because humans make it so."

"Then we stick to the mountain," Ash determined.

Slowly they trudged up the mountain, careful to stick to the manmade trail that went to the shop at the top of the first hill that overlooked the roads between Viridian and the Indigo Plateau. Not wanting his face to be noticed by whoever worked there, he lowered his cap enough to hide his eyes before entering the store. Thankfully, however, the man who owned the store was older and unconcerned with Ash's looks. Thieves weren't foolish enough to come the mountain, and those who did underestimated the wild pokémon that were there.

"Beware the lake of the Tree," the old man muttered as Ash prepared to leave the shop.

The young trainer looked back to the old man and asked him to repeat himself, but the old man stayed silent after that. However, he did walk past his counter placing in Ash's hands a brown tobacco pipe with a stem that jutted out at about six inches along with a small, tied bag. Ash just stared at the materials in his hands, wondering what earth was driving the crazy old man to give him a pipe and tobacco. Ash didn't even smoke!

"The smell will keep you safe," he muttered as if reading Ash's mind before returning to the counter and falling silent.

Quickly, Ash left the store to see Pikachu and Eevee waiting for him in front of the shop. They had been talking, and Ash guessed they were talking about his father from the sad expression on Eevee's face. Pikachu stared at the ground in a quiet meditation when Ash came to them.

"I got everything," Ash muttered softly to Pikachu and Eevee, who simply looked up at the trainer.

"Good," Eevee nodded. "Did whoever worked there have any information on the mountain or pokemon who live here?"

"He gave me a tobacco pipe," Ash scoffed, looking at the clay object. "And he said something about a lake tree. Other than that, he wasn't exactly helpful."

"Tobacco?" Pikachu's ears perked up. "What does that have to do with the mountain? You don't smoke!"

"I know," Ash mumbled. "He said something about it keeping us safe."

"That shopkeeper probably knows this mountain better than anyone," Eevee said. "If he says it is useful, we should take his advice. Why it would be, I don't know…. I actually like the smell of pipe tobacco. It reminds me of your father."

"Dad smoked?" Ash asked in disbelief.

"On occasion," Eevee shrugged. "Once, maybe twice a week if he felt like thinking. He always wrote when he smoked. An odd thing, to be sure, but he would always read to me whenever he finished his pipe. I loved your dad, Ash, just as Pikachu loves you. I protected him just as Pikachu protects you, and I made a promise to him to protect you. Now I protect Rob by protecting his memory for you, just I am sure Pikachu will protect your memory for your children."

Ash stared at Eevee and nodded slowly before taking his lead to go up the mountain and Eevee and Pikachu followed him closely behind. As they disappeared into the forest trees that surrounded Mount Silver, the old shopkeeper watched the trio from the store window. A smile painted his face before a light started to glow around his body. Slowly he morphed until he was a small, floating pink cat with a long tail and blue eyes. Then, in a sudden flash of pink light, he vanished.

For three days, the trio climbed Mount Silver. The hike through the forest climbed, but it was relatively flat until the end of the first day of their hike. The forest was beautiful, if quiet, though there were some sounds made by several bird pokémon that would fly by from time to time, as well as the sounds of bug pokémon. Still, it was peaceful, and Ash failed to see why so many claimed the treacherous. He would very well have built a cabin here and lived his days out in peace. On the second day, however, the angle of the elevation drastically went upwards to a point that Ash needed a walking stick to simply to keep him from falling over. Straight upwards they went, it seemed, and further away from streams of water. Paths were carved into the mountain rock, clearly by pokémon such as Onix, that made Mount Silver a near impossible labyrinth to navigate.

The paths wound up and down, sometimes crossing over to the point that paths that seemed that they were going up actually lead back down into the valley, and paths that seemed to be heading back to the valley took a sharp turn that once again climbed the mountain. From time to time, Ash felt the earth under him start to rumble with the activity of rock and ground-type pokemon. At one point during their hike, the ground beneath them shook to a point that boulders almost crashing down upon the trio. Ash quickly grabbed the two pokemon and sprinted back to a safe distance as the boulders crashed onto the path.

"I think I am beginning to understand why you said people die here," Ash grumbled to Eevee as they looked behind them at the boulders that now blocked their path.

"Some succeed in the journey," Eevee restated. "But it is certainly easy to quit this forsaken place, even for the most experienced trainers. There is no shame in turning back when it comes to Mount Silver…."

"No," Ash shook his head. "If I give up here, I give up on everything I have fought for. I would be giving up on the people I care about. I can't let that happen."

"You are your father's son," Eevee smiled.

"Ash, I think we should find somewhere to stop for the night," Pikachu said to his partner, worried. "The sun is beginning to go down, and you look exhausted."

Both of these things were true. The sky was beginning to grown red and gold, and they were no closer to finding a way up the mountain than they were before. Of course, now that Ash was taking his mind away from walking, he quickly became away of the needs of his stomach, which loudly growled in need. Eevee and Pikachu sighed with a mocking smile as Ash chuckled nervously and scratched the side of his head.

"Yeah, I suppose we could all use a break," Ash smiled. "Let's find some even ground and set up camp."

Quickly they went in search of even ground, thankfully finding it before the sun sank too low in the sky. After setting up camp, Ash released his other pokemon from their balls. The other pokemon he took with him were Charizard, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, after making a call to Officer Jenny, and the Primeape, who he also left in training before. Like the boulders in the way now, Ash knew he needed a pokémon to for the power of its "rock smash." Primeape seemed the best choice to make for that reason and to make a well-balanced team. Of course, they would deal with the path obstacle in the morning. Now was the time to eat! After providing everyone with food, Ash started to make dinner for himself. Though, he wished he had Brock, Serena, Clemont, or Cilan with him at that moment as far as cooking went. After he finished cooking for himself and started eating, Ash told his pokémon that couldn't follow him stories of journeys. His friends watched him with joyful eyes as he regaled in his journey through Kalos, telling them of the time he got sick and Serena had fight a battle for him with Pikachu.

Pikachu embellished a bit on how the battle went, but he and other pokémon snickered in good humor over the fact that Serena was clearly in love with Ash and their master didn't have a clue. Ash didn't catch onto what they already knew, but he smiled over the fact that his friends looked up to him so highly. As the darkness descended upon them, Ash gave his pokémon the choice of going back in their balls, or staying out to help keep watch while the others slept. Naturally, knowing how dangerous Mount Silver was, they agreed to all stay out. And, naturally, Ash opted to take the first and longest watch. Pikachu stayed up with him, watching the night sky, trying to guess at the constellations.

"Pikachu?" Ash asked quietly. "Did I do right by mom?"

"Ash?" Pikachu frowned, not understanding the question.

"Did I do right by mom?" Ash asked again. "I know I ran off into the blue because I felt I was endangering her, but was it too sudden? Couldn't I have told her or said goodbye in person? I owe her so much more than I gave."

"It's always hard to walk away from loved ones," Pikachu said in thought. "Mom always knew you were an adventurer, and she never complained about it. I'm sure she understands."

"But I also always said goodbye," Ash sighed. "I know I said it in a letter and I told her I loved her, but I just feel wrong about leaving the way I did."

"You're right," Pikachu nodded. "She deserved more. They all deserved more, but so do you. What you did wasn't selfish. I know it may seem like it was, but it wasn't. They may not be in danger, but when you say something is wrong, _I_ believe you. Don't beat yourself up for doing what you thought was right."

"It's tough being leader, buddy," Ash smiled sadly. "But you already know that. You can't second guess yourself. Doing that is a sign of weakness."

"Not facing the weakness is a sign of weakness, too," Pikachu looked at his friend and master. "All these long years, you have learned about each of our strengths and weaknesses. You have turned those weaknesses into strengths by facing them and using them to bring out our real power. Maybe being here is a mistake, but that mistake can only make us stronger if you face that challenge like you always have."

"We'll go back to them one day," Ash said softly. "I know we will."

As Pikachu nodded, Ash reached for his medallion once again and felt the warmth of the energies coming from the gems. Once again, the gems he associated with Misty and Serena began to glow faintly, and Ash swore he heard heartbeats separate from his own. A smile softly painted his face.

"Yes," Ash nodded, "we will go back one day."

After a few hours, Ash and Pikachu woke up Squirtle, Eevee, and Bulbasaur for their watch before going to bed, themselves. The night drew on long and cold, but eventually the sun, along with a roar from Charizard, roused Ash from his slumber, signaling that it was now the third day of their hike. The air was cool and felt like the start of a spring day, even though it was in the summer, and there was the sound of birds chirping in the trees. Ash prepared breakfast for all of them and they ate happily before Ash called Charizard, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur back to their pokéballs. Taking Primeape with him to the boulders, the fighting pig-monkey crushed them into rock fragments so they could pass.

"Thank you, Primeape," Ash smiled and held his pokéball up so a beam of red light could cover the pokémon. "Return!"

"Remember, Ash," Eevee said as Ash put the ball back at his waist, "you need to trust your heart and the gems. There is a power in the medallion that drove Rob the ways he went, and it spoke to him as clearly as I speak to you now."

"And if it leads me home?" Ash asked, looking at Eevee.

"Then it leads you home," the pokémon nodded.

Ash nodded and gave a gentle sigh before closing his eyes and placing his hand on the medallion. Slowly, a warmth touched him back and he almost felt a tug at him. After opening his eyes and nodding to Pikachu and Eevee, they trio climbed up the mountain, unsure where they were going but confident that they now were going where they needed to be. After several hours of walking and nearing the mountain peak, Ash felt a tug that started to bring them back down the mountain and into a small valley that was overshadowed by the peak of Mount Silver.

Hidden by a grove of trees that the trio passed through, Ash came to a clearing that held a small lake and an island at the center of the lake that held a large white tree. The tree was clearly dead, but it stood proudly and majestically over the lake as if it were the lake's guardian. There was a mist that covered the otherwise clear waters with a small waterfall that was directly below the towering peak of Mount Silver. In truth, they were still a good three thousand feet below the summit of the mountain. Flowers bloomed across the field, but there were no sounds made except by the waterfall, the wind, and the breathing of the trio. By them was a small stream that flowed away from the lake and clearly ran down the mountain, pouring eventually into the forest below.

"Here," Ash said softly. "This is where we need to be."

…

 **Hey, everyone! Well, that's it for part one of this storyline. Please, leave your reviews! All questions, comments, criticisms, theories, etc. are welcome! Have a good day!**


	9. Chapter 8

Pokemon: The Lord of the Elements

 **Hey, everyone! Thank you for the reviews and sorry about the wait. Work before pleasure, as they say! I hope that I will continue entertain you. As always, please leave your reviews! Enjoy the next chapter!**

 **(Warning: Again, tobacco… blah, blah, blah.)**

Chapter 8

The Heir of the Medallion

Part 2

"What is this place?" Pikachu asked as he, Ash, and Eevee gazed out at the hidden lake that they stumbled upon under the guidance of whatever power drove Ash to Mount Silver.

The air had becoming deafeningly silent as well as surprisingly warmer around them. The mist moved around their feet as they made cautious steps towards the dead white tree. Light of the sun pierced through the clouds in the sky in a ray that descended and fell upon the tree as a spotlight. Even clear waters seemed to glitter around the small island the tree stood upon. Yet, as they stepped closer and closer, Ash began to become aware that everything was off about this place: the silence, the warmth, the mist that was so low that one would normally associate such a thing with horror movies.

"I'm not sure," Ash mumbled as he gazed at the white tree. "But I have seen this place before in my dreams."

Pikachu looked up at his trainer in concern. For the few days that Pikachu had taken watch alone whenever Ash had rested, the trainer would grasp at the medallion around his neck and toss and turn as if he were having nightmares. What frightened Pikachu the most, however, was when Ash had started to talk in his sleep, muttering gibberish that seemed like a foreign language, but was no language Pikachu had ever heard before. Sometimes he would even make a horrid scream in sleep that Pikachu would need to shock him in order to snap him out of it. Yet, Ash, whatever it was that he was dreaming about, remembered the visions perfectly, though he wasn't sure why he had them or the reason he could remember them. But he did not speak of the dreams, even when Pikachu asked. He would only stop and become like a statue with a faraway look in his eyes before muttering about how he didn't want to talk about it, as if he were holding dark or embarrassing secret in his heart. What troubled Pikachu was that the longer Ash had the medallion, the more troubled he seemed. His trainer had always been cheerful and optimistic, but now he seemed closed off and thoughtful, as if the weight of all the world were on his shoulders.

"What did you see in your dream?" Eevee asked Ash, snapping Pikachu out of his thoughts. The yellow mouse frowned at Ash, silently praying that the young trainer would finally tear down whatever wall was closing him off.

"I saw the tree," Ash answered, vaguely answering Pikachu's prayer. "It was… calling out to me. But, in my dream, it was dead."

" _Was?_ " Pikachu frowned, looking at the leafless and flowerless white tree. "Ash, that tree _is_ dead."

Ash frowned as well. The tree was very much dead as far as looks went, but Ash felt something inside of him that told him that the tree was alive. It seemed rather to his heart that the tree asleep rather than dead, but that sleep seemed to look like death. Quietly, he moved forward, stepping into the shallow lake and wading to the lonely island at the center. When he came to the tree, he slowly reached out and placed his hand on the tree.

A painful jolt shot through his body and suddenly he saw forest on fire around him and the lake. No longer where Pikachu and Eevee at the lake's shore, but were lying face down in the water under a blood red sky, dead. Instead, at the shore was the form of a floating shadow with red eyes and a malicious laugh, summoning forth its power and throwing whatever killing blow it intended for Ash. However, the blow never came. Ash cried out in pain and horror, pulling away from the tree and falling back into the lake.

"Ash!" Pikachu and Eevee cried out in concern before running over to the trainer, who was now sitting in the lake's water.

"What happened?" Pikachu asked with a frown as he placed his hands on his trainer's wet leggings.

"I…," Ash began before shaking his head to come back to his senses, "I don't know. I thought I saw this place being destroyed."

Climbing back onto the small island, Ash sighed in slight relief that his little vision wasn't real. Though, as he took off his backpack and nestled his back against the tree, he felt an odd urge to use the pipe he had been given a few days earlier. Opening up his backpack, he took out the long stem wooden pipe as well as the bag of tobacco. After quickly taking pinches to fill up the bowl, he lit the pipe and made a few puffs on it. Of course, he couldn't bear the idea of inhaling the smoke into his lungs, so he just let the flavored smoke roll on his tongue before blowing it out. The smell and flavor was, strangely enough, of cherries, which happened to be Serena's favorite little fruit, though there was also a detected hint of chocolate in the flavor as well.

"Strange," Ash muttered in surprise. "This almost tastes good."

"Perhaps we should consider going back," Eevee frowned.

"Why?" Ash asked as he took another puff on the pipe while Pikachu sat beside him.

"I have a bad feeling about this place," Eevee looked around while furrowing his brows together. "I don't think we're alone."

"How right you are," an annoyed voice said above them, causing the trio to look up. Above them was a rather familiar small, pink cat with blue eyes and a long tail. "And I would have mind to kill you all, if the tree didn't command me not to."

"Mew?" Ash's mouth dropped slightly.

"You seem to be familiar with me," Mew growled with mistrust, "but it is I who does not know you. Who are you, and why do you disturb my home?"

"Visitors, I would imagine!" sounded mirthful laugh before a second Mew appeared before them. In looks of the body, the two Mew seemed identical in appearance of age, but the second Mew had a strange look in his eyes that told Ash that it was far older than he dared to guess.

"Master," the first Mew said slowly, relaxing as he sounded out the word, "you know as well as I do that it is death to come to this place."

"Indeed, young one," the second Mew answered with an amused grin. "However, those who come here come by accident. These three were led here."

"Led?" the first Mew asked with confusion. "No one is _'led'_ here. No one even—"

"Aye," the second Mew cut the first one off, "that is why each time someone or something has, it was by accident. And now we have our first nonaccidental visitor!"

"Then who, Master Chie," the first Mew growled in frustration at Ash and his friends, "would lead these three here? I think we both know that it was not I, and I highly doubt you of all creatures would lead innocents to their death."

"I think you are forgetting there is one other here, Proles!" Master Chie laughed again.

The Mew, whose name was Proles, turned to the white tree behind him before looking back at Master Chie. The older Mew simply smiled at the younger Mew before turning to Ash, Pikachu, and Eevee. Slowly overlooking each one of them, Master Chie finally let out a third and final laugh when his eyes met Ash's medallion.

"I was hardly able to believe it when I saw you in the shop at the foot of the mountain," Master Chie smiled widely, "but I suppose the rumors _were_ true. A child of Sato lives! It seems I lost a bet, eh? 'Tis a pity indeed that none of my cousins are alive to watch me pay up. And I thought those gems were lost forever!"

"'A child of Sato?'" asked a rather confused Ash, who simply stared at the Mew who was inspecting him.

"Eh?" Master Chie perked up to look Ash in the eyes. "The boy has the gems and doesn't know his own lineage? Bah! What sad times these are when you humans don't study your own roots! What's the point of history of you don't keep it alive and study it?"

"Master," Proles interrupted, "I thought you said that the gems were all destroyed. How could there be even one left, let alone nineteen of them?"

"They _ought_ to have been all destroyed," Master Chie answered, his smile slowly turning to a frown. "Yet, eighteen were unaccounted for, and I never heard of this nineteenth gem, unless it were to belong to…."

"Shin'en has long since been destroyed," Proles said quietly after quickly floating to Master Chie, "and his gem was never accounted for, either."

"That's because Shin'en's gem was as mythological as Sato's lost medallion," Master Chie contemplated. "And, if they did exist, they were supposed to be destroyed. If not by the hands that made them, then by the Great Cataclysm."

"You have always said that Sato's medallion existed," Proles frowned. "Why be so doubtful about Shin'en's gem?"

"If you knew the world as it was, young one," Master Chie answered, "then you would hope beyond hope that such objects don't exist. Still, the fact that this boy is here, that there are indeed nineteen gems, and that the tree called him here does not bode well for my cautious optimism."

"My dad died for this thing," Ash said loudly, placing his hand on the medallion and giving it a squeeze, and causing the two Mew to look at him. "I want to know _what_ it is. More importantly, I want to know why I keep having the dreams I have. Too many times I have seen visions of the people and pokémon I care for dead. I want answers!"

The two Mew looked at each other for a moment. After the elder one nodded to the younger one, who was frowning, he turned back to Ash. He gave a long sigh as he closed his eyes before floating down to Ash to come eyelevel with the boy.

"And answers you shall have," the elder Mew agreed. "But, even you must understand when I say that you must undergo trials. There are… components… to the story, that I cannot tell you, but the gems certainly can. If you are who I think you are, and if the gems are what I fear they are, then this is the only way. However, I shall help you as much as I can through this task. Do understand, however, what you are about to do you must do alone. No other human can know the task I am giving you.

In the wrong hands, those gems could wield a power too great and terrible to imagine, even if the intentions of that person are good. Only a true-blood owner or someone of sufficient will could use the gems ordinarily. Yet Sato's gems were, according to the myth, made to only his hands and the hands of his heirs. If you are who I think you are, they will tell you everything I cannot tell you."

"I want to know," Ash said, his eyes filled with fire.

"You have no idea what it is you ask for," Master Chie said darkly, "but I will give you what you seek. Come."

With that Master Chie led Ash, Pikachu, and Eevee to the nearby waterfall. It was small in width, but started about thirty feet above where Ash stood when he came to the base of the waterfall. The water was cold, and, unlike the water of the small lake, was hued blue as a dark sapphire that illuminated by a bright moon. The reason for this darkness, as Ash soon discovered from the power Chie set forth, was a cave behind the waterfall when its waters were parted. The older Mew looked behind him to the travelers and lifted his arm to signal them inside. The trio took a moment to stare into the unyielding dark of the cave, but they each nodded before continuing forward. However, before Master Chie followed them inside, he took a moment to look towards the younger Mew.

"Where we go, for the moment, you may not follow," Master Chie said. "Watch over the tree. It may yet come to flower again."

With that, he went followed Ash into the darkness and the falls closed behind them. However, a light enveloped Chie's body that helped to illuminate the cave. Long the three friends descended into the darkness, only guided by the light that Mew provided for them. Winding stairs, they followed, with grey stone all around them.

"The air in thin in here," Eevee said with a frown.

"Yes," Chie responded. "But not for much longer. There is a chamber we will soon enter that has several vents that cut through the mountain."

"What is this place?" Ash asked, taking time to look around him at the walls. "It looks as if there are carvings here."

"There are," Chie answered. "I have preserved what I could, but some images are worse for wear than others. This was a human temple once."

"A temple?" Ash asked. "But this mountain is far too inhospitable for settlers."

"Maybe that's why they left?" Pikachu asked.

"You think it was abandoned?" Mew scoffed grimly. "No. They were slaughtered."

"Slaughtered?" Eevee frowned. "Did you bring us here to kill us, then?"

"No," Chie answered after a long moment of silence. "There is history here that has long been dead to the world. I brought you here because the answers you seek are nothing but dead to world."

Pikachu and Eevee exchanged looks of unease, but followed the Mew until they came to the chamber he spoke of. There was a small ray of light that descended as a dove onto what looked like a fountain. The fountain had been long dead, but was still in good condition. There was a strange device on top of the fountain, however, that had three globes circling around a large, white globe. The three smaller globes, however, were a light blue, pink, and black.

"I've seen something like that," Ash said quietly as he thought back to a time when he saw a similar device that measured the alignment of the dimensions.

"Indeed, you have," Chie answered, reading the young man's mind. "Though, this device is slightly more accurate than the one you saw. I have always loved how clever you humans are, but you are still less advanced than your predecessors."

"Predecessors?" Ash frowned with confusion.

"Hm?" the Mew looked to the young man. "Ah, yes. I still have questions from you that need answering. I suppose I should answer the first question: Welcome, children, to the Temple of the Stones. Here, humans worked, studied, and trained to master powers known to you now as 'aura.' Then, however, though the users were still quite rare, aura much more common and much more dangerous. Often, aura users were made kings, lords, priests, or, if they were especially powerful, what you humans call 'wizards.' Now, aura is a gift that is nearly dead in the world. The strength of will in humanity is failing. A pity, but the world was made for men, not magic."

"Then how old is this place?" Ash frowned.

"Oh, two or three million years, if I recall," Chie answered.

" _Million?_ " Pikachu's mouth dropped.

"Yes," the old Mew answered with a laugh. "Though, I think I have lost count. All I remember for certain is being a couple thousand years older than this place is. Humans have certainly lost much of their history!"

"Do you really expect us to believe that?" Eevee growled.

"Believe as you wish," Chie smiled. "I do not demand that you believe me, though you may find the truth harder to hear if you don't!"

"And what is the truth?" Ash asked.

"That your family is several million years old," Chie answered. "Well, at least through illegitimate means."

"Illegitimate?" Ash frowned.

"Ah, that is a story old as this mountain!" Chie laughed again. "And if I told it to you in its full, we would be talking in this ruin for the next decade! But, I shall give you a summary of what I know:

A very long time ago, when the world was still yet young and the continents were joined together as a single, unified land, there was the Kingdom of Regisia, the greatest human civilization the world has ever known. At that time, there were no pokémon save for the creatures of myth and legend and our species, Mew, were still large in number across the earth. We, humans and what we called the 'greater pokémon,' lived together in peace. Now it was that aura users were long lived and all Mew were immortal, and the Regisians were famed for their knowledge and great works of beauty, for they were our friends of old. Because of their great friendship, and the trust between them, the humans and Mew first came across a strange stone we called gaeithium, the veins of the earth, and fashioned them into stones of power.

Now it was at that time that Mew would birth only eighteen new Mew every ten thousand years to symbolize the eighteen elements and because we gave our young as advisors and wards to the long-lived kings of the Regisians. So it was that many humans and Mew put forth their powers and fashioned each gem to hold the strength and will of that Mew's favored element. From these stones, the humans made a system of ranking to symbolize their positions of power, with the king having one of each of the elemental gems that came from the oldest living eighteen Mew. And so the human aura users took the gems without question for the of love for the Mew they called 'friends,' and they made many marvels of science and architecture. Yet, they did not advance their science as humans today do, but rather from the magic of their aura and the strength of our powers. Their buildings they made to withstand all time, creating great works of art out of mountains and islands. Indeed, of all their works of magnificence, the Temple of the Sea was their greatest achievement!

Yet, for all their superiority, they were still human. They were still subject to petty emotions such as rage, greed, lust, hate…. The lesser lords strove drove their people to work the fields in misery, and greater lords would plot to take Regisia for themselves, and the king would horde wealth and ravage the earth for more gaeithium. But it was often said amongst the immortal Mew that the height of their power was the pinnacle that led to their doom.

Long after the forging of the gems, but still very long ago, the barbaric tribes to the north of Regisia began to lead hunting parties to kill any Mew they might find. The Regians, horrified by this act, took up arms and marched against the barbarians under the banner of the Regisian prince, Sato the Wise. After what was a thousand years of war, Sato not only crushed the barbarians, but also conquered the entire world. Yet, he was ever haunted by the turmoil of war. When he returned to his father in the Regisian capital, he returned a changed man who never wanted to draw the sword again. He came to spend all of time reading and talking to mythical pokémon whenever he could. From Mew, he learned wisdom, and patience from Celebi. There were even those who claimed that he would walk into the mountains alone to speak with Rayquazza, or even Arceus himself. But I believe he spoke and walked with something else, for I have never met a man so moved to pity and mercy in all my years.

As Sato grew older, he became increasingly wise and fair. His love was not for books, or speaking to the mythical pokémon, but also for music and the stars. And for many centuries, Sato grew and the people of Regisia grew more to love their prince, though they bore less love for their king. One day, he walked atop the heights of his home to overlook his fair city and spotted a young woman who bathed in a pond of the royal gardens.

While such a display of public nudity was punishable by death, he was overcome by her great beauty and had his guards take her out of the pond to be robed and sent to his chambers. There, he learned she was a woman of low, common birth, but he fell for her, and she for him. For many years, they met in secret, away from the watchful eye of Sato's father. Yet, since his father was old in years, he arranged and ordered a marriage between Prince Sato and a high-born Lady named Scarlett. Bound with grief, but unwilling to anger his father or the lords of Regisia, he agreed to the marriage.

But, in the same year of Sato's marriage to Scarlett, the woman Sato loved gave birth to baby girl named Selene. Sato was overjoyed in this birth, but Selene's mother died of a broken heart a year later. To defend his child, however, Sato had his most trusted guards watch over the child. And, after many years, including the birth of Sato's son by Scarlett, Aegis, and the death of Sato's father, Sato became king over Regisia. Out of love for her mother, Sato took in Selene and legitimized her, calling her "princess." She, like her father, grew in wisdom and gained the love of the common people, and her beauty was a legend throughout the land.

But, Aegis grew jealous of his bastard half-sister, and hated her, wanting the throne to himself. After Aegis grew into a man, he sought, with the help of the lords of Regisia, to murder Selene. But a lord who was fiercely loyal to Sato told Selene, and they together told the king. Then Sato, filled with despair, gave Selene a choice: to fight in civil war against her brother for the throne, or to flee the city and kingdom. Selene, however, for the love of her father, chose to flee, for she could not risk the lives of the common people in war. The king was moved by her wisdom and, out of his love for her and to punish her brother, he gave to her the King's Medallion. Thus the Princess Selene disappeared from history, and so, too, did the true King's Medallion."

And then Chie fell silent and gazed at the beam of light that fell upon the group. At that moment, Ash, Pikachu, and Eevee became very aware of the age of the old Mew, who now seemed to be a carved image of splendor out of stone that ancient peoples would make to honor the legendary and mythical pokémon.

"What happened then?" Pikachu asked, causing the old Mew to look up and smile.

"Aegis tried to follow in his father's footsteps as a king," Chie continued, "but was ultimately met with civil war as he was unjust and cruel. Regisia broke apart as a kingdom, but was still ruled by Aegis' heirs. After another several ten thousand years, a king appeared who wanted to get rid of the gems that caused so much strife amongst the lords of Regisia. During this time, however, the immortal Mew, who were still many but few in number compared to humans, lost their ability to produce offspring. That was, until the king wanted to give back to us. Those Mew who helped make the gems were happy to destroy the gems and gain back their lost power.

However, the destructions of the gems came at a terrible price that was both a boon and a curse. They indeed gained their strength back, and their ability to produce offspring, but they became mortal. Yet, the females laid many eggs that came to spread across the world. The 'lesser pokémon,' we called them: the pokémon you know. Some Mew, in that moment, rejoiced to be a part of this creation. Others, however, cursed humans and the lesser pokémon, calling them abominations and usurpers of their immortality…."

Chie sighed softly.

"But I will not be the one to tell you the rest," the old Mew said. "Come! We must follow the passage further down into the lowest level of the temple area. There we should come into a chamber that is filled with a rock that shines like starlight and a lone archway in the middle of the chamber. That is where you shall find the answers you seek, Ash Ketchum. And maybe you shall understand a little my shame and sorrow. It, too, is the world's."

…...

 **Hey, everyone! I know, this chapter was a little shorter, but I wasn't entirely sure how I wanted to proceed with this part and I was getting a little impatient with myself. Heh. However, despite that, I am pleased with the work. Now I can finally get to discussing what Ash was doing for the past few years! Hopefully I won't take as long to post another chapter, but I can't make promises on that. In either case, please leave your reviews! Have a great day!**


	10. Chapter 9

Pokemon: The Lord of the Elements

 **Hey, everyone! Thank you for the reviews. I look forward to more reviews! Enjoy the next chapter!**

Chapter 9

Dragons, Ghosts, and Demons

Ash quickly ran across a small, floating island of stone with Pikachu and Eevee ahead and Mew overhead. On either side of the island was a deep chasm of strange lights that made up the entirety of the strange space around them. The sky, as the immeasurable depths, shone in colors of yellow, green, pink, and even white. Yet, as they knew they would eventually, they came to the edge of the island that was suspended in the strange nothingness.

"Damn!" Pikachu groaned in frustration as he looked over the side of the of the island. "And I never got to boink Buneary!"

"I thought you didn't like her?" Ash looked at his long-time partner in confusion.

"Being chased to the edge of oblivion by a shadow-monster, thing-y, really makes you appreciate the ones who love you, buddy," Pikachu frowned, his ears folding downwards.

"Yeah, no kidding," Ash nodded in despair, his thoughts turning to Misty, May, Dawn, and Serena.

"As great as it is that you're thinking about your hormonal needs," Eevee growled, turning his back to the edge of the island they were against, "I think we have more pressing matters."

Ash and Pikachu turned to see a shadowy creature with great red eyes. It growled at them, making a sinister noise akin to a laugh, and moved closer to them inch by inch, savoring the moment of its triumph.

"I think we're screwed, guys," Pikachu said as his frown deepened.

…

 _(Some time earlier….)_

How long Chie led Ash, Pikachu, and Eevee into the depths of Mount Silver, the three couldn't say, but Ash knew that they delved into a place long vanished from memory. Whether or not Chie was telling the truth about how old the temple was, was one thing, but there they were. What seemed odd to the young man, however, was that the passages, the deeper they delved, seemed to turn more from the appearance of a temple into a mine. Traces of rock glowing rock, that shone with silver starlight, appeared like veins along the tunnel walls. To Ash, the rock seemed like that of mega stones, but these were much more radiant.

"What is it?" Ash asked as the group explored the forgotten tunnel.

"Gaeithium," Chie answered, never stopping, though light now seemed to radiate off the immortal Mew. "The raw and most potent form of it, at any rate. You have seen it before, haven't you?"

"The Sundial of Kalos," Ash said quietly. "But it didn't look like this."

"I know it well," Chie said. "The Sundial had any uses in its beginning. It originally struck Kalos as a comet during the time that Rayquaza swore guardianship over the world. Dragons have ever been the protectors of the world after the Mew race failed."

"Failed?" Pikachu asked with fascination.

"A story for another time," Chie said softly. "There are many tales to tell, and not enough time to tell them in."

"But what was the original purpose of the Sundial?" Ash asked.

"Some thought it was a way to ensure the permanence of mega evolution," Chie said with a tone of amusement. "Others believed it to be a gateway to the Distortion World. Still, there are those who thought it held the full power of Zygarde. In truth, it is the symbol of friendship between Zygarde and Rayquaza, for it touches the land, the sea, and the sky. To that end, Zygarde and Rayquaza have ever kept their vigilant watch over the peace of the world: waiting for the day chaos may rule over us again through the strength of other pokémon that could disrupt that peace."

"Groudon and Kyogre," Ash answered with thought.

"Yes," Chie nodded, "and no. There are many powers in the world. Some of them lie in wait, others want nothing to do with the world. Some are stronger, others are weaker. But the strength, the full strength, at any rate, of many of them have not been tested. Rayquaza and Zygarde ensure that does not happen. Such power could surely mean the end of the world. But I think the two simply keep watch over the Sundial for fear of a different power."

"And what power is that?" Eevee frowned.

"Only Giratina knows," Chie said. "But that answer isn't important."

"Why not?" Ash asked, but was only met by the silence of the immortal Mew.

The rest of the journey was in silence, with only the echoes of footsteps sounding throughout the tunnels of the ancient mine. Though the light of the gaeithium allowed them some vision, it was the light that enveloped Chie that guided them to and fro.

"We haven't seen any pokémon here," Ash mused.

"Nor will we," Chie spoke finally. "Regular pokémon stay away from gaeithium, for some reason. Perhaps they understand what it is, and stay away out of respect. Maybe they fear it. Or perhaps it is the temple itself, though I doubt that."

"I have felt uneasy since we can down here," Pikachu spoke up. "As if messing with the stones could hurt the earth."

"We have Regisians to thank for that," Chie scoffed. "Their greed for gaeithium after the death of King Sato was unparalleled. It is an odd thing that Aegis was so close to a good king but did not learn a thing from Sato. Still, even though the Regisians hurt the world they once loved, weaker forms of gaeithium find their way into the hands of humans. Evolutionary stones, humans use these for."

"Weaker forms?" Ash asked.

"The world is like a body," Chie explained, "and gaeithium truly is the veins of that body. Like every body, however, there is eventual corruption. That corruption is impure gaeithium as a result. It is not raw like was you see in this mine, and it is far less potent. Yet, it still taps into the power and life the immortal Mew gave to the lesser pokémon in the loss of their immortality. Evolutionary stones, mega stones… they serve the power of my kind still. They serve humans still."

Suddenly, Chie came to stop.

"We're here," the ancient Mew said quietly and closed his eyes. Suddenly, the light around him became much brighter and illuminated a large chamber filled with carvings of legendary and mythical pokémon into the stone walls.

At the farthest back of the chamber were two images of what appeared to be Arceus, though the left image was without a face. Below the image of the Arceus on the right were images of Dialga and Palkia, and after them were the three Lake Guardians and Solgaleo and Lunala. Below them, running in a circle across the chamber, were images of all the other legendary and mythical pokémon ending with a Mew and Celebi at the entrance to the chamber. However, at the middle of the chamber, was a statue of Giratina behind a stone arch that appeared to be a mirror.

"What is this place?" Ash frowned.

However, Chie did not answer. Instead, he hovered closer to the mirror. When he came to it, however, he paused, and took a moment to stare at the statue in silence. To Ash, it seemed as if Chie was talking to the statue by the way he looked at it. Yet, before he could even ask, the ancient Mew went forward and touched the mirror. In an instant, it glowed with radiant light. Strange symbols appeared around the arch, glowing as the mirror did, and only then did Chie turn around to look at the young man and the pokémon who followed him.

"The Regisians made many wonders," Chie said softly, "but those wonders were often fraught with peril. This… is the physical door to the Distortion World. The Spirit World, as some would call it. There were once many doors like this, and they were used as highways for the Regisians to travel quickly, before the lesser pokémon came into existence. A fool's business. The Regisians had no idea what they were toying with! But it can't be helped. I felt the call of the tree, and that call has urged me to take you here. Time is not an ally to us, so we must act quickly. You must step through here, and hope you do not draw the attention of whatever might lay beyond."

"What might be in there?" Ash asked with hesitation.

"Answers," Chie said plainly. "Answers you might not like, but answers. In there, time is a strange thing. A thousand years there can be a day here, and a day there can be a thousand years here. You might pass through that door and find yourself in tomorrow or next week when you come out. You might not come out at all. But, if you want to surpass the answers of all those who were before you, I urge you to go in."

"Is there another way?" Ash asked again.

"No," Chie said. "There is no other way. I see what is in your heart, boy. If you do not take this path, you will be found out. There is something coming, and it will not stop until you, everyone you care for, and everything else is dead. I can feel that change in the air around me. Would you risk your life to protect those you love?"

"Yes," Ash answered confidently.

"Love is often the death of duty," Chie snorted in amusement, "but it is also what gives duty a purpose. It gives someone something to fight for. Go in, boy. I won't send you in blind, however. I shall be your guide."

Ash looked at the old Mew and offered a small smile before nodding in thanks. Slowly, and with slight nervousness, he moved ever closer to the glowing mirror. Reaching his right hand forward, he touched the light while Eevee and Pikachu watched behind him. Ash smiled slightly.

"It feels a little cold in there," he chuckled.

"It is a world of the dead," Pikachu smiled slightly. "I'm sure Serena would been on the first flight back to Kalos before going in there."

"She'd kill me for even considering it," Ash chuckled again, remembering her utter fear of ghosts. "But we don't have a choice, do we?"

"Not unless you wish for this girl to die for your reluctance," Chie said before Pikachu could answer.

Ash looked over to Chie, who simply nodded at Ash in reassurance.

"If anything happens to me," Ash said seriously, "get my pokémon out of there immediately."

"You have my word," Chie nodded.

With that, Ash stepped forward and entered the light of the mirror.

…...

Ash gulped, remembering how he, Pikachu, and Eevee found themselves inside this multicolored plane of existence, as he stared at the shadowy creature that was nearing them more and more. Before they met this thing, Chie had gone off in search of Giratina, who would be able to help them. Now he couldn't help but wonder if Chie was going to find their corpses. Yet, even as he felt his blood turn to ice in fear, he felt the power of the gems counteract whatever dark aura was coming from the creature. Suddenly, he felt his courage return and his foolhardy strategies of luck rush into his mind.

"Pikachu," Ash cried, "use thunderbolt!"

Pikachu leapt forward and cried out in fury before letting lose his extraordinary amount of energy. The thunderbolt struck the creature, and it stopped for just a moment, but shook the attack off and continued forward. Its eyes were now filled with rage.

"Great," Eevee muttered in despair. "We pissed it off…."

"Then we use it to our advantage," Ash replied. "Pikachu, electro ball! Eevee, use swift! Attack it with a pincer move!"

With incredible speed, the two pokémon darted off in different directions, getting on either side of the creature and executing their attacks after jumping. But the shadow looked up a burst of energy came from it, sending the attacks back at Pikachu and Eevee before the energy struck them as well. The two went flying off quickly struck the ground, nearly falling off the island. As Pikachu struggled to get up, the creature moved ever closer to Ash.

However, it did not move to throw Ash into the bottomless abyss, but rather tried to grab him. But, Ash dodged the movement by performing a summersault and moving under the creature. The creature then immediately struck Ash on his back and sent him flying deeper into the terrain of the floating island. It snorted in pleasure and turned to face Ash again, eyeing the young man carefully. Before long, however, when it finally reached Ash, it let out a wretched noise that was like diabolical laughter and made a move to attack.

However, before it could strike Ash, two balls of energy struck the creature powerfully and sent it over the island's edge. Yet, it did not all off the edge like Ash would have, but hovered rather gracefully in the air. Looking where the attacks had come from, Ash saw Chie and Giratina. The creature, however, glared with unending hatred and roared furiously at the old Mew and Giratina before making a move to attack. Light clashed around the three contestants as lightning while Ash got up and ran to get Pikachu and Eevee.

"Are you two okay?" Ash asked the injured pokémon, who simply nodded in grimacing pain. Yet, Ash, who felt his own pain increasing, had great sympathy for them while also trying to remain strong. Another clash of energy and light stole the trio's attention as they watched helplessly as Chie and Giratina desperately fought the creature. But the creature had the upper hand over the old Mew, and threw Chie into the island with enough force to crack the earth under him.

Ash, Pikachu, and Eevee went to Chie as quickly as they could, but he was unconscious and bleeding, leaving only Giratina and the creature as the only contenders of the battle. Back and forth they battled: charging each other, throwing bursts of energy at each other, and doing whatever else they could to cause the other yield and submit. Light continued to clash around them, deafening explosions sounded from them and shook the entirety of the Distortion World, and neither gave an inch, seeming as if they would battle for all eternity if need be. However, Giratina had the upper hand when he used a flash of light to blind the shadow creature and create an illusion of himself. And when the creature struck the illusion, Giratina was already behind the creature and struck at it with a fierce blow. Seeing that Giratina could not be overcome, the creature then made a deafening roar and fled into the seemingly endless reaches of the Distortion World. However, Giratina stayed where he was, ensuring that the creature was indeed gone, before gracefully descending to the island.

When Giratina touched the ground, the renegade pokémon stood proud and majestically before Ash as a king would stand tall and proud over his kingdom. Yet, Giratina lowered his head as Ash got up to be eyelevel with him. Ash peered back into Giratina's eyes and smiled widely.

"It's been a long time, old friend," Giratina said, his deep voice even rumbling the earth under him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Ash nodded. "Just a little sore. So are Pikachu and Eevee, though I think Chie got the worst of it."

Giratina merely gazed at the four of them for a moment before closing his eyes. Suddenly, a green energy enveloped them and their injuries healed. Ash stared in amazement at the old Mew, who was bleeding, now was healed completely.

"My powers here are greater than in your world," Giratina answered Ash's thoughts. "Here, I am free to be at my strongest, unbound to the limitations that hold your world from descending into chaos. Yet, even here, I am bound to my limits, and am utterly unable to destroy my ancient enemy."

"That shadow creature?" Ash asked, his confusion growing. "It seemed like a ghost pokémon. What was that thing?"

"It is a temporarily subdued spirit," Chie answered, "but that was no ghost pokémon."

"Too true," Giratina answered grimly. "Subdued, yes, but he getting stronger. I can feel it every time I meet him. As far as human words go, the closest thing that comes to mind that you would call it would be a 'demon.' A good word for it, strong even! But, it isn't truly the correct word."

"Then what is the 'correct word?'" Ash frowned, wondering what could cause Giratina so much trouble.

"I don't suppose there is one," Giratina said after some thought. "He used to have a name, and that is forgotten, even to himself."

"The ancient Regisians had a word for him," Chie added. "The closest translation to would be 'Chaos.'"

"That, too, is a rather good and strong word," Giratina nodded, "but I simply call him 'uncle.'"

"Uncle?!" Eevee and Pikachu shouted in unison.

"Yes," Giratina answered with a sigh. "'The Dark Arceus,' but to even add the name of my father to him is incorrect. 'The Other,' we call him now, and he is the older twin of my father. My father was gifted with superior knowledge and wisdom, but my uncle was gifted with superior strength and power. Together, they were meant to create and rule the universe. But, the Other resented my father and sought to rule the universe by himself in jealousy. After my father made my twin sisters, Dialga and Palkia, and I, my father taught them first. My uncle used that against my father, and enticed me to anger against my sisters. I turned them against each other as a means to destroy them both, but the plan of my uncle was found out and my father stopped the fighting of my sisters. As punishment, I was banished here forever."

"Then how did this 'Other' get here?" Ash asked.

"It wasn't until some thirteen billion years later that his physical form was destroyed," Chie answered. "The Other was killed during the War of Vengeance by Arceus."

"Indeed," Giratina nodded, "but that victory was by luck rather than skill. My uncle had the upper hand the entire time during that last battle, and would have easily killed my father had the humans your kind rescued not intervened and surprised the Other."

"And yet it was the Other's taint on humanity that started that war," Chie mused. "An irony of a long and sad history on the world. And now you are cursed to keep the Other's spirit confined here."

"A curse that he is here, yes," Giratina answered, "and a curse that my father laid upon me to be trapped here. Yet, the task I was assigned here is no curse. It has always been my duty to safeguard and lead the spirits of pokémon to The One."

"The One?" Ash asked, gaining the attention of Giratina.

"Ah, yes," Giratina nodded. "I forget that there is much that you do not know. So much history of the world is indeed lost to the ages. I know as much about The One as you do, but I do know that The One made Arceus and the Other, and I know that The One commanded me to rule this place and lead the spirits of pokémon to Him. Some spirits return to the world as ghost pokemon, acting as my eyes and ears in the world and give me news. Others fall to the corruption of the Other, transforming into what you call 'demons.' But the rest go to The One. Where that is, I do not know, and the Other is the same. All I know is that the spirits I lead go to the very center of the Distortion World, where the Other cannot follow.

The Distortion World, or, 'the Spirit World,' as it may be more accurately known, is an impassable labyrinth that has a straight road that only I can see. The only others who could see it were the ancient Regisians because of their gems. That is why they made this place a highway to quickly get anywhere in the world. Yet, they could not see the road to the center of the Distortion World, for some reason. As for me, I cannot enter the center, only come to its edge."

"I don't understand," Ash frowned slightly.

"I don't expect you to," Giratina said. "But I will grant you some aid. I give you the gift of part of my sight, for your gems will guide you. You must travel this highway and seek out the ancient places of the Regisians, which still stand thanks to the power of the gems. In these places, you shall learn much, and Chie shall help you in such training. To you will be granted Z-powers beyond your imagination. You shall have control over mega evolution the likes you have never seen. You may even be able to call upon the true strength of the gems, the ancient Mew whose souls reside in them still. Yet, even after you understand this power, you must also understand that its abuse shall claim your life or even the lives of your pokémon. And after you are finished, return to me, and I will teach you what I have taught to Chie. You will be made strong, Ash Ketchum, but do not underestimate your enemy, for he is far stronger."

"And who is my enemy?" Ash asked. "That thing I saw?"

"No," Chie answered seriously. "His name is Shin'en, as I have named him before. A mortal Mew who achieved immortality by performing acts of unspeakable evil. He was good in his youth, but his hatred of lesser pokémon and humans drove him to resent the immortal Mew who gave their immortality to give lesser pokémon life. He felt robbed of life, so he partook in a forbidden ancient power humans called 'True Magic,' which helped in the creation of the gems, and crossed it what you would call 'blood magic.'

His lust for life and power sent him here, to the Distortion World, where he was found and caught by the Other. For his desire, he sacrificed his soul to the Other, and became a creature of horrible evil, serving the Other by slaughtering humans and pokemon alike and using their lifeforce to release the Other from his bonds. His use of the power of blood allowed him to create his own gem without a soul. Now he is back to return what he started. Your father's blood released him. I sensed it being spilled long ago, and now you must strike down the enemy of the world. It is the blood of the lesser pokémon he craves, and he will do it by any means. Even causing them to fight each other to the death."

"He won't lay a finger on any of them!" Ash shouted, thinking of Pikachu, and all the other pokémon friends he made.

"As long as you are careful," Giratina said. "Shin'en is highly intelligent. Even now, he knows of your existence. An heir to Regisia is his true fear. He fears you, Ash. He fears what you are, and what you could become. He fears a united world against him. He will work fast to make sure that doesn't happen. He wants you, he wants your gems, and he wants his gem back. If he succeeds, the world will fall. And there will be no one who will be able to stop him. Not even my father."

Ash looked down with a heavy gaze at the medallion around his neck. The gems seemed to sparkle with a soft gleam, but it was as beautiful as clear starlight during the summer. Slowly, he looked back up at Chie and Giratina.

"I'm ready," he said. "What do I do?

…

 **Hey, everyone! Thanks for reading. Hopefully, as a side project but still in relevance to this story, I will be able to start a fanfic that is a collection of stories that summarizes the backstory history of "Pokemon: The Lord of the Elements" before the events that are taking place. Hopefully I will be able to give more information as to when that will be released in the near future. Please leave your reviews! Have a good day!**


	11. Chapter 10

Pokemon: The Lord of the Elements

 **Hey, everyone! Thanks for the reviews. I hope you enjoy the next chapter! Please leave your reviews!**

Chapter 10

A Secret Unburied

 _(Present day; a week after May and Dawn met the Wanderer….)_

The summer breeze brushed the lush green fields of the Kalosian landscape that nestled beside the sea, a beautiful reminder of the relationship between the land, sea, and sky to the beautiful, blonde young woman who gazed over the beach and sea to the north. Her dark blue eyes reflected that of the dark clouds in the distance that hovered over the sea just at the horizon. There was a deep sadness to her eyes, yet, in contrast, was also a bright hope that burned within them despite the sadness. That sadness, of course, was for the disappearance of the man she loved, Ash Ketchum, and the burning hope was for his return, wherever and whenever that might be.

"Serena!" a feminine voice called out to her, causing her to turn her back to the beautiful scene she had so easily fallen for.

"Shauna?" Serena looked at the olive-skinned girl with long, dark pig tails and green eyes who ran towards her. "Did you find something?"

"Y-yeah," Shauna answered, taking a second wind. "I'm not sure I like it much, though."

"What is it?" Serena frowned, taking serious note of Shauna's worry.

"We found more of that crystal like the Sundial," Shauna said. "Serena, the pokémon are acting really weird around it. It's almost as if they are afraid to touch it."

"How far down do those catacombs even go?" Serena muttered.

"I don't know," Shauna said. "But I do know the pokémon won't take another step forward. There was a door infused with the stuff, and the pokémon just quit working."

"Every time we have a question answered, another twenty appear in its place," Serena frowned. "Don't push it. I've learned enough from Ash to know that pokémon can sense when something ought not to be messed with."

"But what if we can learn something about those rocks you're looking for?" Shauna frowned back.

"That's just it," Serena sighed, rubbing her temples softly. "I know next to nothing about Ash's medallion, or what those damned gems even are."

"Professor Sycamore is fascinated about the place, though," Shauna pointed out. "If what you said about that medallion is true, his research may make a breakthrough."

"It won't be much of a breakthrough if we can't go further," Serena said. "I feel like we hit a dead end every time."

"Well…," Shauna smiled weakly. "We may actually have a way to figure out what we're dealing with."

This was maybe the eighth-time Shauna had made her insinuation that there was an easy way to figure out the secrets of the catacombs. Were it not for the incident with Team Flare, Serena may have considered the possibility, but the similarities were too close to comfort. Something nagged in the back of Serena's mind that the powers involved were the same, and she wasn't willing to take the chance to finish what Lysandre started.

"For the last time, Shauna, no!" Serena frowned. "I know, it's a good idea, but we can't take the risk."

"You know as well as I do that Bonnie could help," Shauna advocated. "And you know _exactly_ why!"

"And it is exactly that reason why I have refused," Serena argued back. "For one, this dig is being watched. If we bring Zygarde into the picture, people may start coming after him. We also don't know how the crystal would react to Zygarde. What if the world is destroyed because we let him come into contact with the crystal?"

"Zygarde isn't the megalith, Serena," Shauna defended. "We can't be certain of that."

"No, but we can be certain that the power that put Chespin in a coma is similar to the power of Zygarde," Serena's frown deepened. "And that's the power Lysandre used to power the megalith!"

Shauna frowned back and stepped down from her argument. It was the same argument every time, and Serena used the same closing statement every time. However, despite Shauna's advocacy, she did admit fully that Zygarde and mega evolution did share similar powers when it came to the megalith and the Sundial.

"I don't understand," Shauna sighed. "Aren't the gems on Ash's medallion mega-stones?"

"I don't know what they are," Serena looked down, wishing she could be carefree like the grass that danced to the wind under her. "And not knowing makes me even more afraid of them."

"What about Mrs. Ketchum?" Shauna pressed. "Wouldn't she know more?"

"Everything I already know came from her and those letters Ash got," Serena muttered in despair. "If I can be certain about anything, they shouldn't be used lightly."

After a moment of silence, she looked back out into the sea. Her eyes reflected the beautiful salty water in the form of tear that slowly trickled down her check. At the feeling, Serena moved her right hand to her heart and then to the familiar blue ribbon she received from Ash so long ago during their journeys together at her collar. Playing with it tenderly on her fingers, Serena compared the fabric of the ribbon to the fabric of Ash's blue jacket he would so often wear. Whenever the two were parted, Serena felt closest to Ash when she would touch the ribbon that, in part, lay over her heart. Ever since his disappearance, Serena would feel her ribbon more and more, and many took notice of the habbit.

"Oh, Ash," Serena said in a worried whisper. "Where are you?"

"If we open the door, we could find out," Shauna answered Serena's question to no one, causing the blonde beauty to turn her eyes back to Shauna's. "I mean, assuming the rock that door is made of is the same as Ash's gems."

"I said 'no,' Shauna," Serena frowned again. "If the door is locked, it's meant to stay that way. We haven't another way without Zygarde, and I won't risk that way, either!"

"Well…," Shauna's face turned red in nervousness. "That's not entirely true."

"What does that mean?" Serena stared at Shauna coldly, trying to get a read on the brunette. "You called Bonnie, didn't you?!"

"I-I just wanted to help!" Shauna gulped. "It was last week when I called, so she should get here today."

"SHAUNA!" Serena shrieked, causing Shauna to cower a little.

"It just happened!" Shauna cried. "I was on the phone with her, and she offered to help. She said she wanted to help Clemont find a wife out here!"

"You'll have to marry Clemont just so I won't kick your ass!" Serena shouted.

The olive-skinned girl blushed slightly at the comment, but stopped talking so she could let Serena calm down. Serena paced around for a good five minutes, muttering to herself about how she needed a bottle of wine and a night to herself to get rid of her stress. However, after her silent ravings, Serena took a deep breath and turned her attention back to Shauna.

"I can't believe you went behind my back," Serena said sternly, "but I know you were just trying to help. Make sure that everyone is cleared of that area of the catacombs so Zygarde won't be seen. I won't let him or Bonnie be put in danger because of your reckless decision."

"Nothing bad will happen," Shauna smiled softly. "Besides, this is Zygarde we're talking about. If anything happens, he will change forms to protect himself."

"Which will paint a giant circle on Bonnie's back if there are any criminal organizations left in the world," Serena sighed.

"But she doesn't really own Zygarde," Shauna pointed out.

"Her association is enough," Serena countered. "I consider Bonnie a sister, so if anything happens to her, I will hunt down the reason for it."

"Y-you have my word that she'll be safe," Shauna gulped and nodded.

Serena gave Shauna a glare before making her way southwards towards the dig site. It wasn't too awfully far away from the beach: perhaps a good half an hour walk. Of course, Serena found herself taking more and more walks away from the dig site whenever she had to think. With Ash being gone for four years now, her morale was staggeringly low point. Yet, she was confident that he was alive, even if she wasn't sure about his whereabouts. If Delia was right about Ash following in his father's footsteps, she was certain the ruins of ancient civilizations might give her a clue to wherever he was.

"We'll find him, Serena," Shauna said softly to her best friend after catching up with her.

"But when?" Serena asked with a barely audible whisper. "How long do I have to keep suffering not knowing if he is okay? How long do I hang onto blind hope when every sign I have points that he's gone?"

"He's not dead, Serena," Shauna said, feeling a part of the weight that Serena had been carrying for the past four years. "It's actually your 'blind hope' that has kept me going on, too. I can't accept that he's dead because I believe in you too much. A lot of people would have given up by now, but you haven't. It's your belief that has driven so many to your cause. I don't care for him like you do, but I want him back for you."

Serena gave Shauna a small smile and blushed softly before nodding at her friend. The pair traveled the rest of the way in silence, trying to be speedy in their attempt to return to the site of the catacombs. When they reached the site, they saw it filled with some fifty workers, digging away, taking reports, or simply trying to get rid of any debris that might have clung to artifacts that were found. Overseeing the work was a white pavilion that was established on hill that overlooked the site; and inside it was tall, skinny man with black hair and wearing a white lab coat, and a young woman, in her teens, dressed in a brown top and skirt and with long, blonde hair. On the girl's right shoulder was a Dedenne, and on the left shoulder was a strange, green blob with a red hexagon on its belly.

"You think Squishy could really open that door in the catacombs, Professor?" the girl asked curiously whilst furrowing her brows.

"The rock that is fused into the door seems to match Squishy's unique power signature," the professor nodded. "It's amazing, though, as the strange stones evolve any pokémon that come into contact with them, even if they don't require stones to evolve! And that is simply the first stones we found. As we get closer to the door, the stones seem to get more powerful and more—"

"Dangerous," Serena finished as she and Shauna stepped into the pavilion.

"Serena!" the girl cried happily and ran into Serena with outstretched arms, embracing Serena tightly. Dedenne and the green blob the girl called "Squishy" jumped off of the girl and onto the table before the pair could collide and made cheerful sounds as well at the sight of Serena.

"It's good to see you too, Bonnie," Serena smiled and closed her eyes, hugging Bonnie tightly back and rubbing her back a little. "I missed you. How have your travels been?"

"Great!" Bonnie giggled. "I actually just got back from the Johto region a couple weeks ago. Gosh, it is tough over there!"

"Johto, huh?" Serena smiled. "I actually spent a little time with Ash in Johto when he went see the Brass and Tin Towers. They were as beautiful as they were sad to look at."

"Did you kiss him again there?" Bonnie smirked playfully, narrowing her eyes and nudging Serena a little.

"N-no! BONNIE!" Serena huffed, a bright blush appearing on her face.

Shauna and Bonnie giggled loudly, much to Serena's further embarrassment, which only caused the girls to laugh more when Serena seemed like she would blow steam at any moment. However, Serena eventually was able to look past the girls and towards the professor with a glare.

"I thought we agreed that Bonnie shouldn't be here, Professor Sycamore," Serena frowned.

"We did," Sycamore nodded. "But she volunteered, and this excavation has become about pokémon evolution. Like or not, Squishy is a key factor in that research."

"You know the danger that could Bonnie and Squishy into," Serena sighed. "If word were to get out…."

 _"I assure you that Bonnie and I are quite safe,"_ Squishy at last spoke through his telepathic abilities. _"And even if we were to get into danger, I am capable of defending us both."_

Serena turned her back to gaze at the tiny green blob that sat comfortably on the table next to Bonnie. There was a brightness in the eye that held a visible pupil, and Serena could tell that Squishy was smiling in his own way. Yet, Serena still felt some worry in the back of her mind and the bottom of her heart. Something nagged her to caution, and put fear in her soul.

"Where are Greninja and the other Zygarde?" Serena asked finally after a moment of silent thought.

 _"Patrolling the area,"_ Squishy answered. _"They wanted to make sure it was safe to proceed. In truth, if this place is what I fear it is, I may need my full power."_

"What do you mean?" Serena asked after shooting a frown to the professor. "Why would you need your full power?"

 _"I'm not sure yet,"_ Squishy said, sounding troubled. _"All I know for certain is that the people who built those catacombs are far older than I. They're older than Kalos, I'd wager. The professor has been kind enough to share your worries with Bonnie and me, and I agree with you. Whatever the stones are that are sealing that door are not to be dismissed."_

"So, you don't know what it is," Serena sighed softly, brushing some hair behind her ear.

 _"I have a guess,"_ Squishy answered thoughtfully, _"but not a good one. I can feel their energies from even here. Something about that rock gives me the feeling that it's alive. It's a power that I have never felt before, and yet I feel like I have known it all my life. I feel like I know it, because I am like it. Life is a strange thing: it's both order and chaos. Chaos because true, perfect order is a cold nothingness. Order because it forms itself into a complex system that allows for harmony. Yet, with all the hurts that harmony endures, there is a Power that sets order and chaos back into harmony with each other."_

"So, wouldn't opening the door just cause more harm than good?" Bonnie asked her little green friend before Serena could ask herself.

 _"Hmm? Oh, no!"_ Zygarde answered with a laugh. _"There is a complexity with the stone that allows for self-healing. The door is quite capable of opening and closing. The harm would be in trying to force the door open. As a result, the correct strength and will are required to open such an obstacle. You and your pokémon would simply die in the attempt."_

"WHAT?!" Shauna cried in horror before looking at Serena. "Are you happy we got Bonnie now?!"

"I… am a little more relieved knowing that we won't have an accident," Serena gulped. "But how can we be sure you won't die in the attempt?"

 _"I have a hunch,"_ Squishy said with secret smile behind his telepathic voice. _"If I have the right strength of will, the door will open."_

"Just what kind of ancient people makes a door that's designed to kill people?" Shauna crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. "That doesn't seem morally right at all!"

"Many ancient peoples would put curses on burial sites to protect against tomb raiders," Professor Sycamore smiled. "It was just their way of protecting history. Of course, we know today that those curses aren't real."

 _"Except this particular curse is real,"_ Squishy pointed out, taking a look at the papers and pictures of the door on the table. _"And even then, to call it 'a curse' would be an incorrect concept of the stone's purpose. From your description of the door, and these pictures, I'd say it was put in place to keep something from getting out."_

"Out?" everyone asked around Squishy, who merely nodded.

 _"Indeed,"_ Squishy said with a concentrated gaze. _"The symbol above the door at the center is a symbol I have seen in ancient cultures across the world. It's something called 'Giratina's Veil.' It was often placed above shrines people would go to when they desired to talk to the dead. Of course, such shrines were eventually torn down when rumors surfaced that evil things would sometimes take possession of visitors. Yet, the symbol was thought to ensure that the dead could not pass beyond whatever ground it blessed. But that was the ancient world, and the symbol died with that world. It seems I was wrong."_

"Then why have the door also kill anyone who wanted to enter?" Bonnie frowned while Serena went white as a ghost upon hearing about "the dead."

 _"I suspect to ensure that some fool doesn't wander in and mess with something he ought not to,"_ Squishy looked up at his friend. _"These people, unlike the other ancient civilizations I have observed, were clearly highly skilled and understood what they were doing. I hope I'm wrong, but I get a feeling I know exactly who they were."_

"Squishy, if you have any information that could help us—" Professor Sycamore started.

 _"If you knew half as much as I did about them, you would still know nothing,"_ Squishy looked to the professor seriously. _"All I know is that the disturbances around the world that have drawn the attention of my cousins are now beginning to make sense to me."_

"Bonnie, you just back from Johto," Shauna frowned. "Surely the world isn't as chaotic as Squishy is suggesting!"

"I wish I could," Bonnie sighed and looked at Squishy in silence for a moment. "Johto was nice, but it was in bad shape. People in small towns barely went outside, and pokémon everywhere were either too scared to show themselves, or were simply violent."

"The world seems to be getting worse every day," Professor Sycamore frowned. "I can't help but wonder what is the cause of all of these incidents."

 _"Even if you knew, you wouldn't be able to stop it,"_ Squishy said quietly. _"But I felt a disruption, as if something is trying to turn the world to chaos. My cousins around the world have been working to stop this chaos, but we are not enough. I fear for the world as you do, but I will not lie when I say that something is filling my heart with despair."_

"Squishy…," Bonnie said softly with tears in her eyes, taking the Zygarde core in her arms and hugging him gently.

"Then we fight on," Serena spoke up confidently. "We don't give up until it's over!"

Bonnie couldn't help but smirk a little when she heard the little catchphrase that Serena and Ash shared despite the tears. Serena was right; they couldn't give up while there was still hope that they might find a way to save the world from its surrounding chaos. Looking from Serena to Zygarde, Bonnie smiled at her friend for many years.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Bonnie smiled with determination. "Let's get Ash back and figure out how we can save all the pokémon!"

…...

Some few miles away, in the forest to the south of the dig site, a blue, bipedal frog quickly from tree to tree in zigzag movements, keeping a close eye on his surroundings. The forest was quiet. Too quiet, in his opinion, and the air was almost foul to the taste, as if the lack of obvious life was just as harmful to the forest as human relentlessness. Still, there had to be life, otherwise the trees would have died much longer ago.

"Your worry is the same as mine, Geninja," a voice called out to the blue and black frog. Nearby, another small, green blob with a blue hexagon sat comfortably on a branch a couple trees behind Greninja. "The forest is dying without pokémon to help it live, not just here, but everywhere. And pokémon are dying because they are either too afraid to go anywhere, or those who are turned to violence need to be put down."

"What will you have me do, Zygarde?" Greninja frowned. _"_ We can't force the weak ones out of hiding, and the violent ones are not of reasonable minds. Yet, violence is what is needed to protect the weak and the humans."

"But there can still be violence without the need to kill," the other Zygarde reasoned.

"Yes, but despite our rationality, we do not have Xerneas to help us restore order," Greninja muttered bitterly. "Even Yveltal would be of greater help considering her ability to cause the soil to become highly fertile."

"Even Yveltal's strength would be useless if there are no pokémon to help provide an ecosystem," Zygarde frowned at Greninja's despair. "As would the power of Xerneas. They merely provide a balance, not a solution. Power would be wasted on their part, but we do have their word to aid us if we manage to correct the ecosystem."

"How can we fix a problem that has no clear source?" Greninja turned to look at the blob.

"It has a source," Zygarde said assuredly. "There is always a cause for something, even if it isn't an obvious cause. And sometimes such a cause has deeper roots than we can perceive."

As Zygarde spoke, however, Greninja felt a fell, cold chill run down his spine, as if something drew near. Quickly, performing a backflip from the tree he perched on, he narrowly dodged a dark brown root that erupted from the ground to strike at him. The root was covered in a reddish glow and seemed rotted, but it quickly came down when Greninja threw a water shuriken at the root. Landing next to his friend, Greninja stared at the fallen root in rage.

"That is certainly an interesting development," Zygarde mused. "Especially considering we destroyed all of them."

"That wasn't the same corruption, was it?" Greninja frowned.

"No," Zygarde shook his head. "It was different and controlled by something that is unlike the power of the megalith."

"Another dark Zygarde, perhaps?" Greninja growled. "Is it possible that Team Flare has returned?"

"I have my doubts," Zygarde frowned. "I sense another power at work. Something far darker, and filled with rage. And, it's moving north."

"The catacombs?!" Greninja looked at Zygarde in horror, who merely nodded.

The blue and black frog made no delay, quickly hopping from one tree to the next until Zygarde could neither see nor hear Geninja anymore. He kept his eye to the north after the frog with a look of grim seriousness. Zygarde felt the root purposefully go after Greninja when it could have stuck him instead. A dread feeling fell over Zygarde as he contemplated what would so highly wish the death of Greninja. Yet, even as he considered the possibilities, Zygarde immediately felt another presence near to him.

"Come out!" Zygarde called out to the seemingly empty forest that surrounded him with authority. "Whether you be friend or foe, step out of the shadows!"

And a flash of light appeared in response.

…

Sycamore led Serena, Shauna, Bonnie, and Squishy into the once dark catacombs that were now filled with mining lights slowly. All across the walls were ancient murals that depicted pokémon, kings, and battles that no one had any knowledge of, with maybe the exception of Squishy. Though, if Squishy had knowledge of what was depicted, he did not reveal it.

"Nothing in this place seems to have any connection to Kalosian architecture at all," Bonnie said as she looked around.

"No," the professor agreed. "And everything that is depicted seems to predate any Kalosian culture that we know of. Look at the pokémon on these walls! There is not one pokémon that we see today commonly. They're either all legendary or mythological."

"But they're missing some," Bonnie frowned. "I don't see a painting of Xerneas, Yveltal, or a Zygarde."

Squishy stayed quiet, however, his eyes wandering between the walls. Deep in his heart, he felt a chill, though he wasn't sure what that chill meant. He recalled stories other cells or cores heard or bore witness to, but the strangest of such tales were those that were told to a Zygarde by Rayquaza. The two dragons did not male much contact anymore, and even less did they hear from the "Dragon of the Sea," Lugia. Though, Squishy would have thought that Lugia would make more contact with a Zygarde as the two were representatives of Kyogre and Groudon respectively. Yet, they eventually came to a mural of a pokémon that they all recognized: Arceus.

This mural, however, was strange, as it depicted Arceus standing before a person who was crowned and bore a staff at his side. Arceus and the human stared at each other eyelevel with the human offering his hand to Arceus in peace. Surrounding the human was eighteen Mew, each of a different color, in a circle which seemed to mirror the golden ring around Arceus.

"I often wonder who that man is in the painting," Sycamore spoke as the group stared at the mural. "Is he someone in particular, or does he represent humanity as a whole? Was there ever a time humans and Arceus were friends?"

"Maybe it is a little of both," Serena offered. "But I do have to wonder what people could have done to break that friendship if it were real."

 _"There is no point on dwelling on the 'what ifs,'"_ Squishy spoke at last. _"The past is already written and the future is set."_

"I don't believe that, Squishy," Bonnie frowned. "What's the point of doing anything if the future is already set?"

 _"We don't know what the future holds,"_ Squishy answered. _"So, we fight on for the future, in the hopes that such a future leads to a brighter tomorrow. And if it not us who fights for that tomorrow, someone else will. Do you think it mere chance that we met and became friends, Bonnie? Do you think it mere chance you showed me love, friendship, and compassion? That that compassion that allowed me and my friend to unleash our true power to stop Team Flare from destroying the world was by chance? No, there are too many happy accidents in the world for it to left to chance. Chance simply makes everything too unlikely to happen."_

Bonnie opened her mouth to respond but was cut off when Squishy immediately started to bounce towards the corridor on the right of the mural. Serena watched her young friend with a soft expression, recalling the day that Ash, too, claimed that he believed that fate brought them together. The connection he claimed they had, it only caused her to love Ash more. Gently, she placed a hand on Bonnie's shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile.

"I believe in that too, Bonnie," Serena said softly as she continued her smile. "It was hope that allowed me to fight for my tomorrow. It was hope for the future that has always allowed me to never give up until it's over."

"You couldn't be more in love with him," Bonnie smirked playfully, causing Serena to blush a rather deep red.

"We're close," Sycamore called out to the two girls from down the right-hand corridor.

After picking up the pace, Serena and Bonnie met the professor, Shauna, and Squishy at a stone door that was infused with crystal-like substance that shimmered like starlight. The door's arch post, as Squishy had pointed out, was covered in strange symbols; the most notable of which, at the top center or the arch, was an image of the head of a crowned serpent with a circle around the head.

 _"Giratina's Veil,"_ Squishy said slowly, and with slight reverence. _"Here, you must stay behind me. I have no idea what could possibly be behind this door, and the enemy we do not know is far more dangerous than we enemy do know."_

"Could you make that sound any more ominous?" Shauna frowned. "It's bad enough we about to go into a place that people used to talk to ghosts."

"Could you please not mention that?" Serena closed her eyes and trembled slightly before she felt Bonnie capture her hand. The two blondes offered each other small smiles, though neither smile stayed when Squishy next spoke.

 _"If these people were who I think they were, then this place was used for more than talking to the dead,"_ Squishy said darkly, looking back at the group with a grim and serious eye.

"What more could it be?" Professor Sycamore asked, hoping it could be something connected to mega evolution.

 _"A road,"_ Squishy responded before closing his eye and turning back to face the door.

Suddenly Squishy let out a loud cry that echoed throughout the catacombs and into the dig site. In response, flashes of green light surged forth and struck the small, green blob before Squishy turned into a large, humanoid like figure with two wings and a tail. His head developed a crown that seemed as if it mirrored the image of Giratina's Veil, though the horns of Squishy's crown were less pronounced.

As if the form Squishy took issued a challenge of some kind, the shimmering light of the door turned from a pale white to green. Suddenly, the light shot out from the door and struck Squishy, only to elicit a terrible cry of pain from the legendary pokémon. However, Squishy stood his ground, using whatever power he could muster to respond to the door's attack.

"SQUISHY!" Bonnie cried out in horror at seeing her friend in pain, but before she could move to try help her friend, Serena caught Bonnie in her arms and held the young trainer tightly.

However, the ground around them trembled violently around them as Squishy gave out another cry, this time in determination not to break before whatever power the crystal-infused door possessed. Suddenly, however, the light that surrounded Squishy stopped, and the door opened, revealing a chamber that had a statue of a Giratina standing over an empty archway. The moment, that the door opened to them, however, Squishy collapsed and his form denigrated, sending the Zygarde cells back out into the world until he was simply a core again.

"Squishy!" Bonnie cried out again and pulled out of Serena's arms so she could pick up the tiny, green blob. Tears fell from her soft face as she brought the unconscious Zygarde to her chest, but she smiled despite the tears.

"He's alright," the young trainer choked softly on her tears. "He's just tired."

Serena immediately went to hug Bonnie from behind while Shauna watched the trio and Professor Sycamore went into the chamber. He looked all around, studying the intricate designs of the chamber and the statue at the center of the room. Serena, however, continued to comfort Bonnie, who only thought of making sure her best friend was okay.

"Fascinating," Sycamore smiled. "This statue looks as if it were built yesterday, and yet I can already tell it is far older than anything we have seen throughout all of Kalos! And the crystal runs all throughout this room. In fact, the veins run all to this arch the statue is behind. The arch itself is nothing _but_ the crystal!"

However, when he reached out to touch it, the arch began to glow brightly and a wall of light formed inside of it. Serena could only watch in horror as, in that next moment, Sycamore was thrown back and a root immediately shot through the ground to impale him, his blood spewing onto the ground. Suddenly, a thing of shadow stepped out of the portal that was made, and it grinned maliciously at the trio of girls.

…...

 **Hey, everyone! I know, I ended on a cliffhanger. I felt a bit eager to post and, honestly, if I continued, the chapter would have been too long. In any regard, I hope to start on my side project soon that will go into detail about the mythologies and background histories of PTLotE. Not sure on a title for it, but I was thinking of something along the lines of "Pokemon: Mythos." Maybe I will think of a better title later, but that is what I am working with right now. Keep an eye out for it, as I will be sure to put PTLotE as a reference in the summary.**

 **I'd like to extend a special thanks to Frost Glaive, who has given me a number of ideas on how to proceed with the darker points of the story, as well has helped me to expand the backstory enough to the point that I am confidently able to take up my side project. I already have a few chapters in mind that are more or less rough drafts, but I haven't figured out where to put them chronologically yet. (Well, except for a couple.)**

 **In any case, please leave your reviews! Any comments, suggestions, and/or constructive criticisms, as always, are greatly appreciated! Have a great day!**


	12. Chapter 11

Pokemon The Lord of the Elements

 **Hey, everyone! First off, thank you for the reviews! I wanted to mention I did make my first post for my side project to this story, and it is indeed named "Pokemon: Mythos." If you have any questions concerning some the elements of the story that you want me to expand in the mythology, please leave a review!**

 **Second thing, would anyone like for me to leave side notes in the story to expand on subjects that may be confusing? Just thought I should ask if anyone had questions. In any case, please leave your reviews, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

 _ **(Warning: Since I forgot to give a warning in the last chapter concerning the death of Professor Sycamore, I shall warn now for another character death now. Enjoy!)**_

Chapter 11

The Shadow Advances

Serena watched in horror as she saw the light go out of Professor Sycamore's eyes when the large root ripped through the ground to impale him through his back and out his chest. Both Bonnie and Shauna screamed in terror when they saw his blood splatter across the ground in a pool. The blood that did not fall like rain, however, trickled down the dark root slowly. It was then that the shadowy creature stepped through the portal inside the arch and grinned maliciously at the girls. Its eyes were red and wide, and its smile showed a sadistic satisfaction at seeing new prey. It was hungry, and the young women that it saw were just what it needed. However, Serena, though greatly afraid, immediately thought of Bonnie and tried to summon every ounce of courage she could muster.

"Delphox, Sylveon, I need your help!" Serena cried and threw two of her pokéballs in the air. When the balls opened, white light flowed out and out came the two pokémon, ready to fight.

"Delphox, use mystic fire; Sylveon, use moonblast!" Serena shouted her two pokemon into action and the pair quickly made got on the creature's flanks to attack. Silver light and bright flame struck the shadow, but the creature seemed unfazed. It smirked, and pushed its hands in either direction, sending Delphox and Sylveon crashing into the walls.

But Serena sent out Pangoro, and the large, panda bear-like creature immediately tried to strike at the shadow with beat up. However, it caught Pangoro's fists and let out a chilling laugh before throwing Pangoro up and causing it to hit the ceiling of the chamber. Pangoro then hit the ground with a loud thud, and he groaned in pain, causing the shadow to laugh once again. But then, after Serena felt her blood turn to ice in the presence of the malicious creature, it stretched out its hands and drew what seemed to be two swords from the air: one of fire, and the other of ice.

"P-Pangoro!" Serena screamed in fear as the shadow moved closer to the great bear pokémon. "Get up! Please, get up!"

Yet, as the creature rose its sword to kill Pangoro, three water shuriken struck the swords, destroying them, and then struck the creature. While it did not show itself to be harmed, the creature did look up in distraction. Serena and the others also followed the gaze of the creature, seeing Greninja in the corridor. However, Greninja's appearance seemed to be like the appearance of Ash, as well as having a water shuriken on his back.

"NINJA!" the blue frog cried, earning a dark smile from the creature of shadow.

Greninja quickly jumped into action, drawing a sword of its own that seemed to be made of light while the shadow drew a sword that appeared to be made of electricity. It smirked, towering five feet over Greninja and brought down the sword of lightning as a hammer on an anvil. But Greninja was faster, dodging each blow of the creature while the hits of the lightning sword caused the earth around them to tremble around them. Again, the creature of shadow swung, and again Greninja dodged, using his agility to outflank the creature. In his openings, Greninja would strike at what could only be described as the legs of the creature, and it would utter a terrible, enraged scream in response.

Serena and the others could only watch in horror as the battle raged on. For a short while, it appeared that Greninja could win, but the water-type frog eventually grew tired, and his movements became slower until the creature was able to knock Greninja into one of holes in the ground that was made by its sword. Pining Greninja down under one of its feet, it let out a shrill laugh and raised its sword to make the killing blow. Serena could only scream in terror as she watched the creature move to strike Greninja.

However, in that moment, two beams of pink light burst forth and struck the creature: one from down the hall, and the other from the portal of light inside the arch. While Serena could not see what made the attack from inside the arch, she did see the other Zygarde down the hall when she turned to look, along with floating, pink cat with a long tail, and a small, green, flying creature with a cabbage-like head.

The creature roared with rage as the two lights seemed to work together in pushing and pulling the creature back into the portal inside the arch. It seemed as if it were made to remain motionless as its eyes burned with hatred. With a cry of vengeance, the pink cat put as much power as it could into the beam of light that it had made, and thrust the shadow back into the arch. And, in the moment that it disappeared into the arch, the portal closed.

"Wh… wha… WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT THING?!" Shauna screamed.

"Shauna…." Serena said softly, through the tears that began to pour down her face.

"NO!" Shauna cried. "I demand to know what that was! Look what it did to Professor Sycamore! Look what it did to the pokémon!"

 _"Quiet, girl!"_ the pink cat narrowed its eyes at Shauna. _"I need to concentrate to heal these pokémon."_

Shauna looked up at the floating cat as her eyes began to fill with tears, but Serena quickly got up to check on up on her pokémon. The pink cat watched the blonde and followed her quietly, a look of grimness on its face. But, it was at Greninja that Serena finally looked up at the cat.

"P-please…. Please heal them!" Serena sobbed.

The cat merely watched her for a moment before nodding. Closing its eyes, it sent out pulses of energy that touched Greninja, Delphox, Sylveon, and Pangoro. With each wave, the four pokemon seemed to look better and better, though they still remained unconscious. Quickly, when it seemed the cat was finished, Serena called back her pokemon before throwing her arms around the fallen Greninja and sobbing over him.

 _"Y-you seem to have arrived late, as usual,"_ a voice said weakly, directed to the other Zygarde, and causing Bonnie to look down.

"SQUISHY!" Bonnie cried in joy and wrapped her arms tightly around the little, green blob.

 _"Late? It seems that I arrived just in time to see you survive,"_ Z2 answered. _"What were you thinking, opening this place alone?"_

 _"The same thing you thought when we tried attacking the megalith roots at their source without Greninja,"_ Squishy said dryly.

 _"That was different,"_ Z2 growled. _"We weren't pressed for time."_

 _"That is highly inaccurate,"_ the pink cat scoffed before looking towards the two Zygarde, speaking in its own voice so the girls couldn't understand the pokémon. _"The Enemy is at our doorstep. We have no time."_

 _"A specter, and nothing more,"_ Z2 argued. _"We have no proof this is the cause of the Enemy. It could just as easily be the doing of human work."_

 _"Humans can, indeed, work much evil,"_ Squishy agreed, _"but not so much that it would warrant the attention of the darker side of the Distortion World."_

 _"It could have just as easily been lying in wait,"_ Z2 frowned. _"They have done this for ages beyond memory."_

 _"While humans still foolishly tried to summon and commune with the dead,"_ the pink cat argued. _"Only the Enemy has enough power to call dark spirits across Giratina's Veil without the need for a human necromancer!"_

"Excuse me," Serena said, drawing the attention of the three arguing pokémon. "Can someone please explain what is going on. What was that thing, and what does any of this have to do with Ash?"

The three pokémon looked at each other and frowned. However, it was Squishy who came forward while the green, floating pokémon just watched silently. He frowned slightly at Serena, noting the pain in her eyes. She had a right know, but he did not want to burden his friends, or put them in unnecessary danger.

 _"Serena,"_ Squishy spoke to her through his telepathy, _"I think you should take Shauna and Bonnie, and leave this place. It isn't safe here. I can't risk any of you getting hurt or worse."_

 _"And yet she has a part to play in the war to come,"_ the green, floating pokémon said in its own language. _"Whether it is by your will or not, danger will find them."_

 _"It may well find them,"_ Squishy answered, _"but I would rather keep them from it as long as I can."_

" _Shielding them from the truth will do them no better,"_ the green, floating pokémon said softly. _"Her importance gives her right to know. As does the importance of the other three."_

Squishy was going to answer, but was cut off when the portal in the arch opened once again. Out came a Pikachu, an Eevee, and a young man, all unconscious, all three dropping to the ground, and they were followed by another pink, floating cat, who closed the portal after they were all outside of it. The second pink cat surveyed the room for a moment until its eyes fell upon the unconscious, blue frog, which immediately turned back into the normal Greninja form when the young man fell to the ground.

"ASH!" Serena and Bonnie cried, and ran over to the young man.

 _"Take him, and his three pokémon, and leave this place,"_ the other pink cat spoke with authority to the three girls. They simply looked at each other and nodded before leaving the chamber. In silence, the legendary stared at each other, until Master Chie knew that the girls had left the Regisian ruins. "Greetings, friends. We have much to discuss. Yet, I think it is time we first address what we already know and must admit to be true: Shin'en has returned."

…

 _(Several hours after Ash's return….)_

Far away, in the Kanto region, at the Pokémon Gym in Cerulean City, Misty was finish her rounds tending to the baby water pokémon that swam gracefully in the gym's aquarium. It had been a couple days since she had heard from May and Dawn concerning their little adventure with the Grey Wanderer at Mount Coronet. The message that her friends gave her from the Wanderer troubled Misty's heart. How could the Wanderer have known of the pokémon at Mount Quena in Johto unless she had met him during that incident with Team Rocket, or the Wanderer was….

Misty shook her head. Why would Mewtwo leave Mount Quena and leave the cloned pokemon unprotected? Of course, if the Wanderer was indeed Mewtwo, then why would he be looking for Ash? Misty couldn't help but analyze everything her mind could possibly give her, and nothing seemed to add up, or at least add up to equal a good scenario.

Slowly, she went to her study. Brock had been kind enough to provide her with a library filled all sorts of information on water pokémon, and she would often take time to read up on move combinations or water pokémon anatomy and physiology. In fact, Brock's research ultimately allowed Misty to create battle tactics that near made her the most feared gym leader in Kanto. The only other library that Brock helped create that could create such a powerful use of tactical theory was at Professor Oak's lab in Pallet Town.

Yet, despite Brock's constant attempts to help Misty whenever he could, she rarely got to see her old friend anymore due to his medical trips around Kanto, Johto, and the Orange Islands. Though, Misty did have to admit to herself that she thought the only reason Brock refused to call was because he somehow finally became able to start seducing any Nurse Joy he laid his eyes on. Misty was little worried that his Croagunk was hitting him with poison jab every hour on the hour, but evidently Croagunk would simply jab him before and after his attempts at seduction. How long until Brock would become a father, Misty had no idea.

When Misty had reached the door of her study and opened it, she saw figure robed in grey and hooded. She would have let out a scream, the figure pulled her in telepathically, and silenced her. Misty looked at the figure with fear for a moment, but her fears subsided when the figure removed the hood. Mewtwo stood before her now, piercing her eyes with his own as if he were looking into her very soul.

"M-Mewtwo?" Misty asked in surprise when she felt his psychic grip fall away from her lips.

 _"Greetings, Misty,"_ the grey cat said telepathically and offered something that Misty could only guess was akin to a smile.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Misty asked again, feeling a little unnerved by Mewtwo's intensive glare.

 _"I came bearing news,"_ Mewtwo answered, cutting off Misty before she could even ask, _"and a warning. Your friend, Ash Ketchum, has returned to this world. But the hour is very late, and the Enemy has been preparing. Even now, they make first blow."_

"What?" Misty frowned. "What on earth are you talking about?"

 _"Time is short. You must rally a defense quickly, I fear,"_ Mewtwo said grimly. _"If you don't, Kanto will be destroyed within a month."_

"WHAT?!" Misty cried. "Rally a defense? Against who?!"

 _"Team Rocket,"_ Mewtwo said plainly, and Misty felt her blood turn to ice.

…

Delia Ketchum was in the gardens of her home as warm summer breeze kissed her smooth skin softly. She giggled softly as she heard her Mr. Mime sing as he cleaned inside the house. Looking down, she gently cupped a tomato in her hand.

"Not ripe enough just yet," Delia said with a soft sigh. "Oh, Rob, what I would give to have you gardening with me again."

"Good afternoon, Delia!" she heard a familiar voice call out to her, causing Delia to look up. She smiled when she saw Professor Oak riding a bike towards her, and she stood up when he came to a stop.

"Good afternoon, Professor!" she said cheerfully. "How are you?"

"I'm well," Professor Oak nodded politely, "but I do have to admit that the pokémon at my lab have been acting rather strangely. It is almost as if they are trying to get away from something, but I haven't figured out what."

"Maybe they are feeling a little lonely and want to be with their trainers?" Delia smiled brightly and closed her eyes while tilting her head. "After all, a trainer and their pokémon should journey together!"

"Hmm… perhaps," the professor said thoughtfully while scratching his chin, "but they have been acting scared, not eager to travel."

"Maybe they sense their trainers in danger?" Delia shrugged before a sad look passed over her face at the thought of her only son, Ash.

"I'm sure we'll find him, Delia," Professor Oak smiled sadly. "Besides his friends will move the entire world just to find him."

"He does have such great friends!" Delia laughed softly. "He has always made me so proud."

However, the laughter was cut short when the pair heard an explosion off in the distance, seeming to come from foothills of Pallet. Professor Oak frowned slightly. Delia eyed the professor, noting his furrowing brow as another explosion was heard.

"Th-that sounded like a battle," Delia frowned.

"Indeed," Professor Oak nodded, his frown deepening. "Why don't you go inside, Delia."

"Professor?" the young mother watched the professor in surprise.

"It wasn't a request," the old man said before taking a pokéball from his lab coat and releasing a Dragonite. "Go inside, and lock the doors."

"But—" Delia started.

"No!" Professor Oak looked at her seriously. "Explosion sounds like that only happen when a member of the Pokémon League guard is engaged in some kind of conflict. It is my duty to investigate."

"I…." Delia started, but her eyes met the stern eyes of the professor before she sighed in defeat and gave a small nod.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," the professor smiled and got on Dragonite's back before taking off.

After Delia went inside, the minutes turned to hours, and the sounds of explosions became closer and more frequent. Dark clouds overcame the small town of Pallet and it began to rain heavily as the lightning flashed all around. Thunder boomed loudly, echoing the explosions that were sounding until Delia could take no more. She went for her door and opened it when she began to see balls of fire rocket through air and strike houses. Those who made it outside before the houses were torched began to scream and run for their lives, but they were caught by a volley of poison sting attacks. Everywhere Delia looked now, people were being overtaken by people dressed in black with a giant, red "R" on their torsos and their pokémon.

Delia could only look in horror as she watched people she had known her whole life mindlessly slaughtered by both pokémon and other humans who were aligned to Team Rocket. All Delia could do, however, was think fast and call out to her Mr. Mime.

"Mimey!" Delia cried and took her pokémon by the shoulders. "I need you to go to Professor Oak's lab and warn the pokémon there to get as far away from here as possible. Do you understand?"

"Mime! Mr. Mime!" the clown-like pokémon pulled at her as if he were begging her to come with him.

"I can't, Mimey," Delia said and hugged the poor pokémon tightly. "I need to save anyone in town that I can. Please, save the other pokémon!"

Mr. Mime looked at Delia sadly and with fear before nodding and running off to do what he could. Delia, on the other hand, tried to run into burning houses to save little children, injured pokémon, or whoever else needed the help in that moment. However, no matter how many she tried to save, she was ultimately met with the screams of the murdered before meeting their fates. Yet, as Delia ran towards her restaurant to make sure none of her employees were hurt, she suddenly felt a sudden blow to her head and everything went black.

When Delia finally woke up, she was met by the horrific scene of a completely destroyed Pallet Town. Every building burned to rubble, every person killed, all of it gone. As the tears formed in her eyes, she heard laughter from behind her. She tried to turn, but became aware that she was tied up, forcing her to roll over to see who it was behind her.

There were many Rocket grunts, all dressed in black, but one particular member in the was a young man, about the same age as Ash, maybe a little older, with mud-red hair and red eyes. He smirked slightly at her and help up his left hand, causing the grunts behind him to stop laughing. He took a few steps towards her before scoffing.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked with a smirk. "Seeing this wretched town destroyed. A pity that all the pokémon in the old man's lab got away, but no matter! All of Kanto shall soon fall just as Pallet did!"

"You won't get away with this!" Delia spat at him.

"I already have," he said calmly, his smirk still heavy on his lips. "And if you need proof, why don't you take a look at the new sign a made for my enemies?"

The young man put his middle finger and thumb to his lips before making a loud whistle. Immediately a couple of grunts came forward with two five-foot-long wood stakes in their hands. At the top of the two stakes were the heads of Professor Oak and his Dragonite. The young man chuckled darkly.

"They put up quite the fight, I do have to admit," he crouched down next to Delia, speaking directly into her ear. She could feel his warm breath on her skin releasing its own venom as she felt her blood turn to ice in fear. "But, they were two outnumbered to deal with us. I have to admit, it was truly fun to kill the 'great' Professor Samuel Oak!"

Tears formed in Delia's eyes and the young man couldn't help but find deep satisfaction in those tears. He laughed again before grabbing hear and shoving her into the mud. When he pulled her back out, be pulled a knife from his belt and held it to her throat.

"Now, bitch," he growled slowly, "where are your late husband's gems?"

"I don't know," she answered angrily.

"You don't think I won't kill you right now?!" He chuckled. "Trust me, I'll gladly do it."

"Then if you do, you'll never know if I was lying," Delia looked up at him with defiance, only earning a chuckle from the young man.

"No, I know you're not lying," he smirked. "So, here's a better question for you: where's your son?"

"I don't know that, either," she frowned, wondering why Team Rocket was so interested in Ash and the gems, other than Rob used them to defeat Giovanni.

"Why, _mother_ ," the young man laughed, "I'm hurt. You don't recognize your own son when you see him?"

Delia's eyes widened and she looked up at the young man. It couldn't be, but now she could see the similarities. His smirk grew as the wheels in her mind turned.

"Si-Silver?" her voice trembled.

"Bingo!" Silver chuckled before driving his knife into her gut, causing Delia to scream in pain. "By the way, dad wanted me to give you that as a 'hello.' I can't wait to send dad your head!"

Silver smirked again before turning to the grunts and eyeing them. His smirk widened when he saw two individuals dressed out of code, wearing white instead of black. He chuckled, thinking about relatable this was to poetry.

"You two," Silver said, pointing at a man with a blue mullet and a woman of long, red hair before tossing them a pokéball. "Have a Scyther. Use it to bring me her head."

The pair looked at each other and the woman stepped forward to Silver. He smirked at the woman and eyed her up and down. Dark thoughts of using her in his bedroom crept into his mind and he chuckled.

"Good," he laughed. "You will be rewarded greatly for this. When we get back to the hideout, come see me in my office. What's your name?"

"J-Jessie, sir," Jessie replied, feeling oddly, and hotly, intimidated by Silver.

"Do what must be done, Jessie," Silver smiled. "Kill this woman for the glory of Team Rocket!"

Jessie nodded and called out the Scyther from its pokéball. Delia could only barely look up at Jessie in her pain as she knew her end was coming. Yet, despite the fact that she was about to die, she took comfort in the fact that she would be with Rob again soon. As Jessie gave the order, the man with the blue hair, along with the Meowth that stood next to him, couldn't help but look away as Scyther brought down his sword-like arm on Delia's neck. The other Team Rocket members, when the deed was done, gave a cry of victory.

…

"Well, Giovanni," a creature cloaked in shadow chuckled, "it seems that you have done rather well in not only unifying the world's criminal organizations, but also unleashing our first blow on the world."

"And yet you sit here," Giovanni frowned. "Klaudius informed me that you are the most powerful pokémon in the world, and you have done nothing, Shin'en."

"Haven't I?" Shin'en grinned. "Did I not multiply the strength of those creatures I detest? I only remain here because I lack the strength to go elsewhere. I need my gem to complete my transition back into this world."

"Why do I get the feeling that you are lying?" Giovanni growled. "Why should you have this gem when it should belong to me? I am the master here, not you!"

"You? The master?" Shin'en looked at Giovanni with surprise before laughing.

"Stop it!" Giovanni shouted and drew a gun to point at Shin'en. "I brought you back into this world so you can serve me! Not so you can be confined to here!"

"Oh, how terrifying," Shin'en mocked, grinning darkly. "Just as well, I no longer need you, Giovanni."

"Wh-what?" Giovanni frowned, growing angrier as beads of sweat rolled down his face. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, please," Shin'en chuckled. "You didn't really think I was really letting you control me, did you? I watched you carefully, studying your habits, learning everything I can about you. The truth is, I was using you so I can gain power. And when I have my gem again, I will no longer need any human subjects, or those abominations you call 'pokémon.' And trust me when I say, I will take great pleasure in killing every one of those lesser creatures that are not fit to walk this earth! So, now, Giovanni, die. Die now and curse, knowing that you were used for my purpose."

And with that, Shin'en lifted his hands and the darkness that shrouded him enveloped Giovanni and shredded him piece by piece. And when there was nothing left, Shin'en took the appearance of Giovanni and smirked. Now was the time of his vengeance against the world, and nothing would stop him.

…

 **Hey, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully I shall post another chapter for Pokemon: Mythos soon, so keep an eye for it! In either case, please leave your reviews! Have a great day!**


	13. Chapter 12

Pokemon: The Lord of the Elements

 **Hey, everyone! I'm back. Sorry this next chapter took so long. I have been extremely busy as of late. However, I am now back in school. I will now likely spend some time writing whenever I need to relax my mind a little. Anyway, please leave your reviews. I am also working on a chapter for Pokemon: Mythos as well. I'm not sure when I will release that chapter, but hopefully it will answer any questions you might have. Enjoy the chapter!**

 **A/N: The music used for emotional inspiration for this chapter comes from the Game of Thrones Season 7 soundtrack entitled "Truth." If you listen to while reading this, I hope it will enhance your reading experience!**

Chapter 12

The Queen of Roses

Ash walked through a field of grass that was covered in an array of many different colored flowers as dawn broke around him. Some of them were tall and bloomed with such intensity that they would block the light of the sun from other flowers, while others were short and small, as hidden treasures one would have to search diligently for in order to find. The air of that field was warm, but the cool, gentle breezes that kissed his skin were like the breezes that would come between late spring and early summer. A forest lay nearby that the field of flowers entered into. Towering above the forest, however, was a tree that produced flowers larger than Ash had ever seen before. White, those flowers were, with yellow centers that shimmered like gold as the sun became more visible to that part of the world. The tree reminded Ash of the Tree of the Beginning, which was north of Pewter City. However, that tree was petrified due to its age, and its "leaves," which only survived because of the Mew that resided there, were green and it bore no large flowers. This tree, on the other hand, was very much alive, and its leaves were naturally silver. Yet, under the light of the rising sun, the leaves on one half of the tree shone like a brilliant fire. Ash gazed at the tree in wonder.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a soft, feminine voice said behind him.

Ash turned to see the young woman he had met in his dreams before, though now she seemed more dressed to the look of one who seemed majestic. Her clothes were still poorer compared to the great hall she sat in before, but they were no longer plain rags. At her side was a sword with a hilt made of white dragonbone and upon the hilt were two gems, one an emerald and the other a sapphire, and pink pearl for the pommel.

"I wasn't expecting to see you again," Ash told the young woman honestly as he looked to the side and scratched the back of his head.

"I promised that we would meet again, didn't I?" she smiled softly at him. "Though I do wish our meeting were under peaceful circumstances."

Ash couldn't help but nod. Ever since Giratina told him that it was time to part ways, he felt an easiness that told him that he was going to meet strife. Whatever this young woman had told Ash was after him, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that it was still after him.

"What is this place?" Ash asked her when a gentle breeze pushed him back towards the direction of the giant tree. The young woman couldn't help but look with him and a smile painted her beautiful face.

"It is the World Flower," she said with reverence. "Like spring, it is the promise that life will grow again. Its petals and center mirror the colors of Arceus, and it is said to have the power to heal. Here, hope springs eternal. It is hope that the bearers of medallion bring to the world."

"Hope," Ash muttered with a frown. "What could I possibly give the world? I am no king."

"No, you are not," she answered, which caused Ash to turn his face back to her. Needless to say, he was expecting something more encouraging from her, but was surprised when he saw her smile. "How could you be a king? All the lesser nations that sprung from Regisia's corpse are dead. Its capital broken and thrown down, and the place where its ruin was smitten has been wiped clean from this world. The blood of Regisia is a stain upon the world that has all but disappeared. And even those very few with but a drop of the blood of Regisia have so small a drop that they cannot claim to be of any part of its glory, not they would know of the country. What is Regisia now but the shadow of a memory kept by immortal creatures that both weep for and curse its foundations?"

As she spoke, her smile faded into a look more serious and dark. Yet, it was not filled with hate, but rather with unfathomable sorrow. When she closed her eyes and opened them again, they gazed eastward of the tree she called the "World Flower," though all Ash could see was an open field. A sigh escaped her lips before she focused her attention back on the young man she spoke with.

"But this good for you," a smile once again painted her face. "The world does not need a king. It needs, rather, a hero. That you are, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town: a hero. You proved it to Giratina, Arceus, and many others. You proved it at the Isles of the Three Titans. If it is the will of the Shinkari, you shall do it again."

"Shinkari?" Ash muttered as he gazed at the young woman. "I know we have met before, but…. Who are you?"

"Have you not guessed?" She giggled.

"You said last time that you were an ally," Ash thought aloud. "Yet you obviously withheld something."

"I have withheld nothing!" her laughter stopped, though her smile remained. "You simply choose to be unsure about what to believe. A caution that is wise enough at times. Surely such a caution would have prevented the horror that was the War of Tears."

"Is it caution that makes you not tell me your name?" Ash frowned.

"What use is a name to one who is dead?" she countered before lifting her hand in peace to calm the eyes of the young man. "As I said, I am a friend. Even being in death for so long, I have not changed from who I was."

"Then you are a servant of Giratina," Ash stroked his chin in thought with is left hand.

"No," the young woman gave a content sigh before gazing up in the beautiful sky. "I am one of the few people Shinkari has allowed to stay tied to the world. Though, in my beginning, I believed my father to be the better candidate for such a task. Most people that are tied to world in death are simply because the Other found them and cursed them when they foolishly found their way into the Spirit World. So tell me, Ash Ketchum, son of Rob Ketchum, who am I?"

"I do not know," Ash muttered. "A name, even of the dead, is useful to the living for history."

"You already know it," she laughed mirthfully, and the music of her voice seemed to brighten the flowers around her. "Though you disappoint me, Ash. You have such confidence in your pokémon and your friends. Have you none for yourself? And if you claim not to, do you lie about having such confidence in battle?"

"No!" Ash defended. "If I don't have confidence in myself and in my pokemon, how can I expect to lead them to victory?"

"Then know my name!" she smiled as a darkness seemed to surround them both until they, the Tree, and medallion were all that left that had light. "Know my name, your name, and the name by which the Medallion answers to. Know yourself! And most importantly, know the falsity you have put in your heart is false. You are more than you think. Know you are not alone, even all of the darkness of the universe come for you. And it will."

And at the words that sang in his ears and flooded his mind until his heart filled with hope, Ash Ketchum knew no more than the darkness that surrounded him.

…

When he opened his eyes next, his blurred vision first saw the distorted imaged of a what appeared to a milky-white face with honey-blonde hair. After he blinked a couple times, he saw not a blurred image, but a beautiful young woman with crystal blue eyes. He saw a deep sadness in those eyes that seemed to carry the weight of the world behind them. Yet, he knew the face of the young woman sitting next to him to the left. But even as he blinked, she, too, began to blink: first in sadness, then in confusion, realization, and finally a joy that seemed too good to be true. Tears trickled down her face as water would slowly trickle down a wall of rock before becoming a small body of water that would form a stream. Ash slowly moved his face as a hand of the young woman first covered her heart and the other hand covered her shorten the loud gasp she uttered. Clearly she was unsure if the what she was seeing was real or a dream. In the pain of her of eyes, Ash could see this moment had been a dream too many times for her.

"S-Serena?" Ash asked weakly, trying to snap out of his distorted state, though his voice only caused the beautiful young woman to make a stiffed cry of a sob behind her hand.

Slowly she leaned forward until the hand that was over her heart reached forward to cup his cheek. Her hand trembled in its movement until it reached his cheek, trembling even as she touched him and eliciting another sob from behind the hand on her mouth. If Ash thought it wasn't possible for someone to cry more, he was wrong. Tears spilt from Serena's eyes as she slowly and tenderly caressed his cheek. He could tell from her look alone that she was begging any and everything she could possibly think of that this wasn't a dream. In response, and in finding his own strength, Ash moved to place his left hand on the hand that was on his cheek. He closed his eyes softly, and almost hated himself for forgetting the gentle softness of her touch.

It was only when he heard her sobs once again that he once again opened his eyes. Serena's hand was away from her mouth now, her face stained with tears and beet-red. Yet, the red seemed to accent the blue of her eyes until the light of their beauty was so great that Ash see nothing else but her. Ash slowly and tenderly stroked Serena's hand on him with his own, trying to reassure. It was then that her face took on a new expression behind her tears. It was the look of someone who had made up their mind.

Serena moved slowly onto the hospital bed Ash was on. Droplets of her tears occasionally hit the bed sheet or his skin, but he didn't mind much. He was happy to hold onto Serena if that was what she needed. When she was close enough to Ash, however, took a moment to gaze into his eyes. It was when the distance closed that Ash realized what she had made up her mind about. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his firmly, but tenderly enough to not hurt him. Her feel was soft and delicate. Her taste was of strawberries. Her scent was of roses. Her tears met his cheeks as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Ash, shocked at first due to her boldness, quickly succumbed to her and placed his hands on her waist. He closed his eyes as well and kissed back. He kissed back, remembering the kiss when they parted ways in Kalos. He kissed back, remembering the kiss he planted on the top of her head. He kissed back, thinking that she had indeed granted him the forgiveness he asked for in that kiss for leaving without a personal goodbye.

And yet, as he kissed back, he found his aura reaching out to his mind, and he saw Serena dressed in black under a gray sky. Not only Serena, but Misty, Dawn, and May with her. They all wore black and they all stood in front of a tree. They all wept bitterly, and it was Misty and Serena that held each other during it. He recognized the tree as it was the tree he and Pikachu would often climb to think about what they would do for a journey whenever they got home. It was the tree he and Pikachu saw Ho-oh at before they decided to travel to Hoenn. Above the girls, and the tree, were six Mew. The two above the tree, watching the young women, Ash recognized as Proles and Master Chie; but the four Mew that were floating above Serena and the others, Ash did not recognize. Yet, when Ash stepped forward to have a closer look, the six Mew looked directly at him, and the vision vanished. And with the vision, Serena broke the kiss to pull slightly away. Both of their eyes were still closed, but Ash felt her resting her forehead on his.

"Y-you're awake," Serena whispered, almost afraid to speak loudly in case Ash might vanish again. "You're _alive_."

"I'm here," he said softly in return. "I'm fine."

It was only then that Ash felt Serena pull away. When she did, Ash opened his eyes. She sat on the edge of the bed, her back turned to him. It didn't take aura for Ash to know how upset she was. Yet, it was the color around her that told him that she was torn between heartbreak and joy.

"Where were you?" Serena whispered again as she curled her fists in angst. Yet, the whisper was still loud enough for Ash to hear.

"I…," Ash began, though he wasn't sure how to answer her question. "I'm not entirely sure, myself. Serena, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry if I hurt you."

Ash sat up and moved his arm to place a hand on her shoulder. However, she got up off the bed and walked away from him. She hugged herself as she felt the tears form again and flow down her cheeks. Ash, on the other hand, could do nothing but watch the beautiful girl he wounded so deeply with his disappearance.

"I searched for you," Serena said a little louder this time, her voice filled with sorrow. "I looked for four years. I was ready to give up, and you showed up just when I was going to."

Serena turned to Ash, who listened quietly to her. She had every right to be angry with him, Ash knew that much. She marched back to him as he looked down at his lap. Serena couldn't help but frown. She had been through so much without him. She wanted him back for years, and now that she had him, she simply wanted the truth from.

"Ash…," she said with heartbreak in her voice. It was enough to make Ash want to do everything he could to have her smile again. "Please tell me. I lost the man I love before. Don't make me think I now lost who he was."

Ash looked up at Serena, who had her blue ribbon clasped with both hands. Of course she loved him. All the signs were there, and he was too foolish to not notice. Ash couldn't help but feel a little happy that Serena was now so bold. Perhaps growing into the beautiful woman she was now helped with that. And seeing him again allowed her to open up completely after the fear of losing him.

"Serena, I—," but as Ash spoke the hospital door slammed shut, causing them both to look at it. Floating in front of the door was the Mew that had come out of the portal with Ash, Pikachu and Eevee.

 _"Where he was and what was doing is neither your business nor your concern,"_ the ancient Mew said telepathically to Serena. _"And even if it were, how could you go there? You're not dead. How could you have followed?"_

"D-dead?" Serena felt her blood run cold before her eyes turned to Ash.

 _"No, he is not dead, girl,"_ Master Chie gave a humorless chuckle. _"And even if he were, human spirits don't go there save by a rare chance. The power that allowed him to enter there physically is one that you do not know, nor could you achieve."_

"What are you doing here?" Ash frowned at the ancient Mew. "Isn't it unsafe for you to wandering around a hospital in the open?"

"Clearly I have not been discovered, then!" Master Chie answered in his own language and laughed. "I have the ability to become invisible and change form at will, in case you forgot. No unfriendly human eye shall find me."

"What about the eye of another Mew?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"If Shin'en wishes to battle me, let him," Master Chie smirked. "It has been long since I fought one stronger than I am."

Ash sighed and turned his gaze to Serena. She looked back at him in confusion. He knew he had quite a bit of explaining to do, but it would have to be another time before he could do it.

"Serena, this is Master Chie," Ash said softly. "I have been training with him for the past four years. He… believes I have to save the world."

"Save the world?" Serena frowned. "From what?"

 _"The Enemy,"_ Master Chie claimed with sadness in his voice. _"And the Enemy has already made the first move of war by the world's imbalance. We made the second through Ash's training. Now our enemy has indeed attacked. And his strike was fast and hard. Many have died."_

Ash looked at the ancient Mew with confusion, though the look of Serena's face told him that there was indeed something wrong. Yet it was not the look of her face that told him the news, but rather that her eyes moved away from his. Ash did not believe she was hiding something, but he guessed it was probably bad enough that she wanted to wait until he was ready.

"Serena," Ash gently took hold of her hand. "What happened?"

"It happened two days ago, a little after we found you. There were news reports about it," Serena choked on a sob, her eyes filling with new tears. "A-Ash… it's Pallet Town. Team Rocket supposedly attacked it. The pokémon at Professor Oak's lab were able to get away, but no one else survived."

Ash's eyes grew wider with every word Serena spoke. Fear gripped his hear, then anger. His hand trembled upon hers with the rest of his body. He was deathly afraid to ask the next question that came to his mind.

"M-my mom?" Ash barely was able to whisper out.

 _"You should leave for now, Serena,"_ Master Chie said out of mercy to the young woman. _"Ash and I should speak alone. You won't want to be here."_

Forcibly, Serena felt her hand pulled away from Ash's by the powers of the ancient Mew and the door opened before her. She looked back at Ash, who tried to look strong, but had a dead look in eyes. She wanted more than anything to cradle him in her arms and help him to feel better, but she was forced out. And the ancient Mew shut the door behind her. The next thing Serena knew, were the pained cries of a man who had too much taken from him. She leaned her back against the wall and slowly slid down it in grief. Tucking her head between her legs, she wept once more.

…

Three days passed since Ash had learned about the death of his mother from Master Chie. Team Rocket had put her head on a spike in front of the sign that welcomed people to the now destroyed town of Pallet. For three days, Ash neither ate nor slept. For three days, his anger slowly built up within him. And on the third day, he at last chose to take action, despite being warned otherwise by those around him. Only the ancient Mew remained silent on the subject.

Charizard stood upon a hilltop, the same rage in his eyes that held the eyes of both Ash and Pikachu. His orange skin seemed a bright red, and the flame on his tail grew large, bright, and hotter with every second that Ash delayed the journey that was to be taken. In silence, he and Pikachu growled, cursing Team Rocket, vowing to destroy each of them they could hands on. Only Rob's Eevee held the greater hatred in his heart for the Rockets.

"Ash, please don't go!" the three pokémon heard the voice of Serena and turned to see her chasing after one fuming Ash Ketchum.

"I made up my mind, Serena," Ash growled before he climbed on top of the dragon-like pokémon with Pikachu and Eevee. Serena could only watch in her own pain as her hands immediately went for the blue-ribbon Ash gave her so long ago.

"Ash, please," Serena said softly as tears formed in her eyes. She reached out to gently grab his hand and his glaring eyes softened when she saw how fragile she looked. She was an angel, and he knew it. She kept him alive during his time in the Distortion World along with Misty, Dawn, and May. "I almost lost you once. I don't want to risk losing you again."

"If Master Chie told me is true, I can't stay here," Ash said, now with his own sadness in his voice mixed with terrible resolve. "I'm going to Kanto. And I'll be damned if I let Misty and Brock die because I couldn't learn quick enough. The same goes for Gary. I won't lose another loved one. _Especially_ not to Team Rocket!"

Serena stared up at the young man she loved so dearly. She understood he wasn't just seeking vengeance. He wanted to save anyone he could. That was the Ash she loved. Her Ash showed through the anger that was consuming his heart and mind. And, strangely enough, it calmed her despite the danger he was going into.

"Serena," Ash said softly and turned his face to her. Her eyes were met his, and somehow she saw once again the eyes of the boy she knew she had given her heart to forever at the Lumiose airport. "I love you, too."

With those parting words, Charizard leapt from the ground and into the sky. His powerful wings beat with intensity and it was not long before they disappeared into the horizon. Serena sank to her knees. For years she had hoped to hear those words. And as much as her heart leapt for joy, it broke in two. She asked for him to love her, and he did. But what scared her more now than ever was whether or not he was charging into death.

 _"I am curious about what you shall do,"_ Serena heard a voice behind her. When she turned to see who it was, she saw the floating form of the ancient Mew.

"Master Chie?" Serena frowned. "What are you doing here? How much did you hear?"

 _"Enough,"_ the pink cat answered. _"As for why, I am here because I need to be. A darkness surrounds us, and you must play a part in the fight against it."_

"I'm not Ash," Serena spoke quietly and looked downwards. "I'm not courageous like him."

 _"Clearly he wouldn't claim to love you if you weren't courageous in your own way,"_ Master Chie answered, keeping his eyes upon her. _"But needed you are, and needed you will be before these things come to an end."_

Serena looked back up at the pink cat. She immediately had the feeling there was something he knew and was hiding, though she could not guess as to what that thing could be. Still, if Ash trusted him, then so could she.

"What do you need me to do?" Serena asked as she stood up.

 _"There are Three Children of Giratina,"_ Master Chie smiled. _"You have met them all before. They each must be sought after and brought together before the Sundial. There, they must put forth their ancient powers in unison."_

"And what will happen after that?" Serena frowned, wondering how dangerous this task might be in relation to the Sundial.

 _"Perhaps nothing,"_ the ancient Mew chuckled. _"Perhaps something. Perhaps anything. And perhaps everything. I have never tampered with gaeithium."_

"'Gaeithium?'" Serena frowned more at the unknown name.

 _"Yes,"_ Master Chie smiled. _"Time is short, girl. The world is going to war. Now go. Go to save those you love."_

"But, wait! I don't even know what I'm looking—," Serena cried out, but the ancient Mew had already disappeared. "… for…."

 _"I think I can help with that,"_ a voice called out to Serena beneath a nearby tree.

"Squishy?" Serena asked in confusion when she saw the little, green blob. "You know about these 'Children of Giratina?'"

 _"Well, yes,"_ Squishy blushed slightly. _"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, Serenea. It was in an effort to protect our friends."_

"Tell me what?" Serena frowned with suspicion.

 _"I happen to be one of the Children,"_ the Zygarde core answered. _"Xerneas and Yvetal are my sisters under Giratina."_

…

 **Hey, everyone! I hope you enjoyed with chapter. Please leave your reviews. Hopefully I shall be able to post again soon. Have a great day, everyone!**


	14. Chapter 13

Pokemon: The Lord of the Elements

 **Hi, everyone! Thank you for the reviews. To my "Guest" reviewer, you are partially right. Yes, Misty, Serena, May, and Dawn all love Ash, and he loves them. However, once again, I must turn you back to my closing author's note back in Chapter 6. I have no intention for the story ending in a harem, but there will come a point in which you understand why I am setting it up as such. Trust me, my intentions for the romance ending have not changed. That being said, I have certainly thought about the story ending in a harem, but it would take away from the story I had in mind.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this next chapter!**

Chapter 13

In Search of a Strange Myth

 _(A month since Ash and Serena parted ways….)_

Giratina looked out over the seemingly endless expanse of, what was to him, the living, and his uncle, the Distortion World. In many colors, it gave its eerie, cloudy light, though the it seemed darker now than it did in past. He stayed in quiet contemplation, giving thought to the roads the spirits of the dead traveled, if they journeyed to the City of The One, and guiding them when necessary, but his heart troubled him. The spirits grew restless, and the dark spirits corrupted by his uncle were growing in their activity. Something was off, Giratina knew that much, though he wasn't sure what the source of his worry was, nor why he felt it in such depth.

He sensed the presence of his uncle. "The Other," men called him, as did all who dwelt in the physical world. Giratina, yet, thought of the name of his nameless uncle. "The Mighty," his name once meant, and nothing closer to the truth. The Other was, indeed, strong, and to be feared. He was an enemy that should never have been mocked or underestimated, and Giratina was beginning to feel why. He had felt tired for what had seemed for ages, but now he felt pain. Not so much pain that he felt need to worry about his ancient task to The One, but pain enough that he knew what The One warned him of was true: the Other was getting stronger.

It was a dark reminder that he would fail one day, but he had hope that The One would not allow his uncle to steal The One's creation. Still, something had troubled Giratina. Never before had his uncle grown so bold in his advancements. He was certain his uncle was planning something, and his uncle was always crafty enough to hide that plan from him. Many times, Giratina had discovered the plans of his uncle to escape the imprisonment of the Distortion World, and too many times such discoveries were last minute and by accident. Yet, it was the other meaning of the Other's true name that struck fear in the fear in even the heart of Giratina, and that was the name that the physical world feared to speak before it was forgotten. Yet, despite the fear he might have felt, Giratina spoke it still when invoking the name of The One to help drive his uncle off.

But, this time was different. This time Giratina felt drawn to the floating island he now contemplated on. The presence of the Other was focused on this part of the Distortion world, and upon the portal that Giratina stood protectively in front of. What Giratina was certain of, however, was that his uncle was taking his time coming this way and mocking Giratina in the process.

"Iskiotelos," Giratina growled as he gazed into the forming darkness across the Distortion World.

"I never thought I would hear that word again in my life," a voice spoke near Giratina. Yet, with the cunning exception of his uncle, Giratina knew all the doings of his realm. He did not need to look behind him to know the visit of his old friend.

"You come at a late hour, young master Chie," Giratina said thoughtfully.

"Late, yes," the ancient Mew nodded, "but not lost. Tell me, what cause do you have to use such a cursed name?"

"The same reason you do not," Giratina said. "Names hold power, as I told you long ago, and you told to a certain princess with hair as black as night…. But, just as names hold the power to bring forth or destroy, they also have the power to reveal. Even what dwells in darkness cannot hide from light. And if that darkness swallows the light, it endures, though it be hidden from seeing eyes."

"The Enemy," Chie said slowly and gazed at the forming darkness. "Can he really swallow the light?"

"If he could not, my destruction could not be by his hand," Giratina answered with grim resolve. "Still, it is his name that proves he must swallow light. Iskiotelos, 'the might of darkness at the end.' A grim name for a hateful creature, and prophetic."

"Do you feel weaker?" Chie frowned and winced at the name of the Other before looking to his ancient friend.

"Little by little," Giratina nodded. "But not so much that he is ready to strike me down. The fact he still eludes me instead of attacking me directly tells me as much."

"And yet he fled from the combined strength of your father and your brothers and sisters," Chie pointed out confidently.

"He _fled_ from The One," Giratina corrected. "My uncle is many things, but he is no coward, and he is certainly no fool. You speak poorly to disregard him, my young friend."

It was at that moment that the dark dragon of the dead turned to look at the floating, pink cat, his yellow eyes staring deeply into the blue eyes of the ancient Mew. It seemed to Chie that Giratina smiled for a moment to see his friend. But the smile, if it was one, vanished as soon as it came, and the dragon raised its height to gaze at Chie in authority.

"Why are you here, young master Chie?" the dragon spoke deeply, as if his voice rang out as a bell all across the Distortion World.

"To seek your authority for my work in the physical world," Chie answered softly and bowed low before Giratina.

"I seem to recall that you already had it," Giratina said back in thought. "But you seek a different authority than power, knowledge, and wisdom, don't you?"

"The Tree of Tears," Chie said softly again after some hesitation.

"You ask a great thing," Giratina frowned. "Why should I give you authority over her?"

"To wake her and rouse her wrath against Shin'en," Chie said plainly. "Along with the Stone of the Night."

"Their sleep is not by my authority," Giratina said, though when he next spoke, it seemed it was not with his own voice. "Nor shall they wake again, save to drink upon the essence of the six immortal guardians and call upon the ancient powers to punish the Enemy who dwells on Earth. But it shall be Sato's heirs who turn the guardians' hearts to do this thing. And on that day, Regisia shall be avenged, and the heirs of Sato may claim back their crowns, if they so desire. But the Tree and the Stone shall give up their lives, because of their long labors, and know peace at last."

And so Giratina quieted after he spoke the last word, and thought about what was said. But he turned his back to the ancient Mew and stared at the approaching darkness once more in silence. It was Chie, however, who was troubled in his heart, for the words of Giratina both made sense and did not.

"There is only one heir of Sato," Chie said softly as he stayed bowed.

"Yes, my young friend," Giratina answered. "You are right. You have my blessing, but I can give you no authority I do not possess. Go. You have much work to do."

"Master Giratina," Chie spoke once more, "may I ask one last thing?"

"If it is your wish," the ghostly dragon answered, keeping his eyes on the darkness.

"Why are you guarding this specific portal?" the ancient Mew wondered aloud, looking at the arch behind his old friend. "If your uncle is far away from here, and he is the master of deception, why do you not chase him?"

"My uncle _is_ the master of deception," Giratina growled in response. "Yet, when he is honest, a power comes from him that is easily felt through such honesty. He chose to come here. Why here, I am not sure, but he baits me here. He would not bait me if he was unsure of his plans."

"That is not a comforting thought," Chie said.

"No," Giratina answered. "It is not. He has a plan, and it is undoubtedly a trap. Yet, I must hold him here, even if I were to fall doing so. All I know is he chose here for a reason, and the place that portal leads to leaves me with little doubt about the coming attack."

"Where does it go?" Chie frowned.

"You shall find out," Giratina answered. "Now go!"

And when Chie rose, he looked a moment longer at the ancient dragon, who now seemed older and far more tired than he ever had seen before. The ancient Mew closed his eyes for a second and opened the portal behind Giratina, but he was stopped by a small grunt that came from the dragon of death before passing through. It was then, when he turned to face Giratina, who stared at him one last time, that Chie knew he saw a look of sadness on Giratina's face.

"Good bye, my young friend," Giratina said softly, earning a nod from Chie before he passed through the portal. The dragon watched the portal until it had closed, and he turned his attention back to the darkness. "We are running out of time."

…

 _(Hearthome City, Sinnoh; The Hearthome Cathedral….)_

Dawn glanced up at the towering, grey building before her. It seemed darker than the last time she had seen it, though it may have been the rain that kissed the normally lighter stone. Last time she was here, Dawn had witnessed Ash win a badge for the Sinnoh Pokémon League, and the time before that was during a Pokémon Contest she had participated in. She smiled at the warm memories her travels with Ash provided for her, though those warm memories were broken by the cold wind that came from Mount Coronet in the west. She shuddered. Too long had the sun been hidden by dark grey clouds that hung above her; too long had she felt the cold suck hope, warmth, and life from her. Yet, there was an ember of hope that still glowed within her ever since Serena had sent an email claiming that Ash was alive.

However, despite Dawn's attempts to ask how Serena had found out Ash was alive, the communications ended with that email. It only caused Dawn's worry to return once again, but she resolved to stay in Sinnoh so she could help anyone she could. Despite her feeling at a loss, however, she was comforted by May, who chose to travel with her. It had been five weeks since the pair had met the Wanderer, and they decided to search for anything they could find about the temple the Wanderer had shown them.

"Why are we here, Dawn?" May asked behind the blunette before taking a bite out of a crème puff she had bought earlier. "I thought Sinnoh's largest library was at Canalave City."

"It was," Dawn said and clenched her fists at her side. "But sea has become violent all over the world, and it was decided that the library's collection be moved here."

"I wonder why," May muttered. "Moving across Mount Coronet isn't exactly what anyone would refer to as safe, either."

"Nowhere is safe," Dawn said back. "But Hearthome is safer than other places in Sinnoh."

"What is this building, anyway?" May asked.

"I wondered that myself, when I first saw it," Dawn answered after a moment of silence. "It was here before Hearthome even existed. Some think it was once a keep to a castle, and the city just slowly built around it. Others call it a cathedral to Arceus, but there are no relics to Arceus inside, only a stained-glass window that captures the image of the mountain and two statues of Mew. It is at least a thousand years old, and will probably stay longer."

"You seem to know a good deal about it already," May smiled.

"No, I don't," Dawn shook her head and sighed. "Any records I could find about it were stored in the Canalave library, and those records were few. When the founders of Hearthome came here, and found this building, it was occupied by a people foreign to Sinnoh. And when the founders of Hearthome came, the people who built this place left a year later."

"How strange," May said thoughtfully. "Why would anyone just leave their home like that?"

"Records claim that they said it was their time to leave," Dawn shrugged. "They gave Hearthome the keys to this place, and went westward. Evidently the people who lived here were beautiful, but sad. They spoke little, but they were generous, and aided of Hearthome often until they left."

"So _nothing_ is known about the people who built this," May said with narrowed eyes.

"Next to nothing, yes," Dawn nodded. "But I'm hoping we can somehow link this place and those people to the ruins we found at the mountain."

"Maybe," May rubbed her chin softly while looking at the strange building. "But I think we both know that the design of this building looks far different from the temple at Coronet."

"I agree," Dawn smiled. "But I think that mystery of origin will be our main connection link!"

"I think it's time for our next expedition," May smiled back before giving a short giggle.

Dawn giggled as well before grabbing the brunette's hand and leading her inside the strange cathedral. It was as grey on the inside as it was on the outside, but it was certainly not lacking in light. A great dome was centered in the cathedral's ceiling that filtered in light from the outside world, and stained-glass windows filled the walls. Yet, the only window that took an image to it was the window at the back of the sanctuary within, and that image was of Mount Coronet. The peak of the mountain was crowned with the sun rising behind it, and yellows rays spread throughout the image of the mountain. There were a few people inside the sanctuary, perhaps saying prayers for passed pokémon, but each of them were reverently quiet.

An elderly man watched those inside the sanctuary quietly, though he seemed about his own business as he sat in a chair at the back of the sanctuary with a book in his hands. Both girls had assumed he was their best bet at finding the library inside the strange building. However, when the pair approached him, he looked up from his book and smiled kindly at them.

"Welcome, ladies," he said softly. "May I help you?"

"We're looking for the books from the Canalave library," May smiled back.

"Oh?" the old man raised an eyebrow, but kept his smile. "What knowledge are seeking? Perhaps I can help you find your needed book faster."

"We're looking for a history on ancient Sinnoh culture," Dawn answered. "Though, ancient world culture might be just as useful."

"With all these reports of ruins popping up across the world, I can't say I'm surprised," the old man stroked his white beard thoughtfully. "However, I'm afraid I have lent any books we have to scientists studying the ruins themselves."

Dawn frowned a little and looked down. The girls were back to square one, though they had to admit that they hadn't really had questions answered the entire they searched to begin with. The only time they had question was ever answered was when they were with the Wanderer, but the answers they had were vague and only raised more questions. Still, their hope to figure out what happened to Ash, even if he was now found, and maybe piece together a way to calm the raging pokémon of the world drove them forward. Ash taught them never to give up to the bitter end, the two young women would do just that.

"Anything you might have will be useful," Dawn smiled with uncertain hope.

"Hmmm…," the old man looked down in thought. "I think we have some books on myths and legends around the world. Most of them are legends you were probably already told when you were children as bedtime stories. One, though…."

He trailed off and furrowed his brow before making a slight frown. Still, it was enough to get the attention of the two girls. Their eyes lit up eagerly with hope to help Ash as they drew closer to the old man. Pleading looks painted their faces as they dropped to their knees.

"Please, we want to know!" they pair spoke in unison.

"Well, I…," the old man's frown deepened. "One book seems to be an account of some kind, or at least some kind of fairy tale. The thing is, it has been discredited as mythology as there is no culture in the world links with it, or we have discovered to link with it. And it is certainly an odd one. Still, the library at Canalave claims it the oldest script they possess."

"May we look at it?!" Dawn pleaded.

"I suppose…," the old man said slowly with an even slower nod. He beckoned the girls to follow him into room to the girls' left. When they entered the room, it was filled with many shelves, and more books than there were shelves available. Yet, he did not take the girls to any of the shelves, but rather a locked chest in a far, dark corner of the room. He sighed as he pulled a key that hung from his neck and opened the chest with it. He dug around for a moment inside as the girls watched him patiently before finally stopping and standing back up.

"Once again," he said softly, "I do not expect you to find anything in here that is worthwhile. The stories in this book have no known origin, nor any reference of historical records we know of. All myths of the ancient world and stories have some connection to history of a certain location, but this book contains nothing about it. There is one page that does have a record of a known place, and that is at the start of the book. All it makes a claim to, however, is the day the book found its way to the Canalave library. I wish you girls luck in your search."

He sighed softly before handing the Dawn the book. After doing so, he closed and locked the chest once more before leaving the room to the girls. May and Dawn stared at each other as they heard the old man's footsteps and the closing door before looking at the simple book. It was rather large, ranging about six inches thick, and the pages being a foot long. The cover of the book was rather plain, colored brown with no words to explain what the book was called. However, there was a faded insignia upon the cover of a rose crossed with a sword.

"Well, I suppose we better start reading," May sighed.

Dawn nodded and opened the book. The pages were clearly newer, as the Canalave library was famous for its ability to preserve and restore books in its possession. Still, despite the fact that the book looked newer, Dawn felt a sense of timelessness within the pages.

 _"Within these pages lay the accounts of a strange organization that no nation claims to know of. This organization has referred to itself as the 'Knightly Order of Flowers,' or simply, 'Flower Knights.' According to the content within this book, these supposed Knights were primarily Amazonian in nature, their ranks filled with mostly women, and they were as deadly as they were graceful. The primary function of these Knights, according to the text, was simple: to protect the beauty of the world. Philosophically, this is a rather vague concept, as it is unknown what 'beauty' was to these Knights. Though, perhaps each Knight was encouraged to define their own beauty. What is certain in this book, however, is the concept that they defended life and nature._

 _While that is all good and well, it seems that the Knights were no different in their code of ethics when it comes to vows than other knights we know. Yet, it seems that the Knights in this book were described to have fought in wars unheard of and places that do not exist. Most odd of all is the people the Knights claim to be loyal to, a mystical people who called themselves the 'Sylvanae.'_

 _However much uncertainty this book holds, though, what is certain is that it found its way into the Canalave library. It was donated to the library by robed migrators that spoke little and requested a ship to be carried westward across the sea. All that was ever claimed of it by these migrators was that this book is a book of history. Until further examination, the library cannot verify if this book has any significant historical contribution to the world."_

"Flower Knights?" May frowned. "What's a Flower Knight?"

"Ugh!" Dawn groaned. "Why? Why can't we just get some bloody answers for once?!"

…

 **Hey, everyone! This chapter ended a little shorter than usual, but I think it will simply because I need to devote a larger scale of time into the book May and Dawn will investigate. The Flower Knights play an important role in the mythology of the story, and you have already met one of them. Anyway, please leave your reviews! I will try to post again whenever I can. Have a good day!**


	15. Chapter 14

Pokemon: The Lord of the Elements

 **Hey, everyone! I won't lie to you when I say that this chapter has a direct tie-in with my background story, Pokemon: Mythos. For starters, it will be heavily concerning May and Dawn's discovery of the mythology of the Flower Knights, who serve one of six beings known as the "Elemental Lords." Their primary function, as stated in the last chapter, was to "protect the beauty of the world." While that concept was indeed meant to philosophically vague, there is also a sense when which that oath was rather simple. They were meant to defend life, nature, and love, and supposedly held to that task for a rather long period of time, which will eventually be covered in the Mythos.**

 **However, long before they were simply an Order, as the Mythos will explain, they were a military branch of a certain kingdom and people called "Sylvanae." As a kingdom, the Sylvanae, otherwise known as "forest dwellers," broke apart during a time that only the Mythos can truly cover, but the Order survived. As I will explain, the Order survived under a chieftain of the broken Sylvana Kingdom, but more or less became lonely wanderers who would only form together as an army under their chieftain's call. At that point, the Order accepted both men and women into their ranks, but there were always more women due to concept that the Order was traditionally Amazonian.**

 **This chapter will cover the final days of the Knightly Order of Flowers before its own disband, but explains a certain role that created a rather great importance in the role of the Flower Knights. The point in time described in this chapter takes place long after the continental divisions of the pokémon world, but still at a point in which legendary pokémon would have still battled each other to the point of world annihilation despite their declining activity. Give or take, fifty thousand years before the start of Ash's journey. It was also a point, however, in which the Mew population had heavily declined enough (along with growing distrust of humans) that they had given their role of being the "guardians of the world" to the dragon-type pokémon.**

 **In any regard, before I will cut off here before I wind up spoiling too much. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave your reviews!**

 _ **(Warning: This chapter has highly dark concepts to it, including mentions of immoral sexual activity, (you'll see what I mean,) character death, necromancy, and forms of cruelty that may not be suitable for younger readers. Reader discretion is advised.)**_

Chapter 14

Dragons of the Withered Flower

Of all the tragedies the world has endured since the Great Cataclysm at the end of the War of Tears, it is the Drakadam War, the War of Men and Dragons, that is the worst. It began as tragedies often do: it began with a woman; and she was the queen of Summerland. Now this queen had a certain husband who went to war, and he was mortally wounded upon his return home. Yet, he continued onward until he came to his queen at Mount Necros, where he succumbed to his wounds and died. And so the queen was turned to grief, for her husband was the trueborn king of Summerland, and there was no family that could replace him. But fear and desperation caught her spirit, for she knew that the lords of Summerland would kill her and fight over Summerland until there was once again one ruler over it, as there was no heir.

And so, before the king's body turned cold, the queen called for a necromancer of Mount Necros, hoping that the king's spirit could return to his body just long enough to impregnate her and so she could say goodbye. But when the necromancer called into the Spirit World, it was a spirit of evil that answered. And so the spirit entered the king's body and slew the necromancer. When the queen saw what she had done, she attempted to flee, but the spirit caught her, and used the body of her dead husband to violently take and know her. But when the spirit used the last warmth of the king's dead body to give seed to the queen, it rode that seed into her, and filled her. And so the queen conceived, and that evil spirit became the spirit of the child within her, and that spirit took her mind so she might not kill the child.

But the evil spirit saw the mind of the queen, and worked magic to enslave the minds of others so they would claim to be witnesses of the king and queen's union. And when the lords of Summerland saw that the queen was pregnant, and that there witnesses to vouch for her union with the king, the land was saved from civil war. But after the queen gave birth to her child, a son who was named Malromos, for his eyes were as black as night, she threw herself from the high tower of her palace and died.

And so Malromos grew under the care of the strongest lord of Summerland, who was named the king-regent until the boy was old enough to rule. So the evil spirit slept within the boy while grew so he might not be slain. But when the king-regent intended to seize power for his family by marrying his daughter to Malromos when the two came of age, Malromos learned of the plot through the evil spirit's work of magic. But the boy stayed quiet on the knowledge until he was older. And when he was approaching the age to take the throne, the boy took the regent's daughter and murdered her in the bed. But the Malromos made it seem like a lesser lord had assassinated the regent's daughter, and the regent, in anger, went to war. But as the regent fought, Malromos seized the throne, and declared the regent a traitor to Summerland. So the other lords of Summerland raised their banners and destroyed the army and family of the regent. Those who survived, Malromos enslaved.

And so the evil spirit within Malromos awoke, and Malromos often took pleasure in destroying the lords of Summerland around him and making people his slaves. Often he would send soldiers to burn the crops of any village or city that displeased him, for he demanded that every town pay him tribute in their crops and livestock. He took no one from Summerland into his army, fearing betrayal, but rather raised an army of mercenaries from other nations and regions that were bought by his great wealth of both coin and food. Thus Malromos earned the hatred of the people of Summerland, yet completely destroyed any chance for rebellion as long as Summerland's lords were eliminated. With his slaves, he ravaged Summerland for resources in order to build monuments to himself, and he did not care who was to die in order to build those monuments. He built many brothels for his mercenary soldiers, and ordered them to violate the women of Summerland as they saw fit in order to provide him with more slaves. Men, he worked until they died in exhaustion. Children, he would sometimes sacrifice to himself, as he declared himself a god. And when he did not sacrifice children, he would sometimes make them perform gladiator fights against pokémon for his amusement.

Cruelty to pokémon Malromos loved most, for he loved nothing more than to starve them and make them fight for scraps of food. And he would send women and children, unarmed, to be brutally killed and eaten by those starved pokémon. It was said that his cruel laughter was heard all across Summerland, and both Groudon and Kyogre delved deeper under the earth to escape that laughter. His reign lasted for six years until the outcry of humans and pokémon alike in Summerland was even heard by Rayquaza. Yet Rayquaza did not know the extent of the evil done in Summerland, for he still trusted Men, but he felt the ravaging of the earth. So he sent an emissary to beg Malromos to cease taking so many resources in Summerland. Now the emissary that was sent before Malromos was a Latias, and when she was deeply troubled in her heart when she came before the king of Summerland. For when she saw the palace of Malromos, it was a palace of human blood and bone. Yet, she still came before the king, and she gave him Rayquaza's message.

"My lord and master bids thee cease thy pillaging of the earth," Latias cried. "Doth thou care so little for the peace and safety of this world that thou wouldst see it destroyed? I beg thee, turn away from thy evil and help to heal the world thou hath wounded!"

But Malromos laughed, and did not heed her warning. Twice more in that year did Latias come to Malromos, and twice more did she give him Rayquaza's message. And the second time she came, he laughed. But the third time, he did not laugh.

"Thou ask for peace on this earth, doth thou not?" Malromos scowled. "Very well. I shall give thee the peace thou so desperately desire. I send this message back to thy master! Tell him, I, too, want peace. My peace. Tell him, the world is mine to do with as _I_ will!"

And so Malromos took a spear, and crying out, threw it at Latias. And his soldiers drew their weapons and attacked the dragon pokémon as well. Thus Malromos slew Latias, and sent her head back to Rayquaza in answer. And when Rayquaza received the head of Latias, he was filled with terrible resolve, and made war on the whole of Summerland. Thus began the Drakadam War, a war that the world should never have had to suffer. All the dragons of Summerland took part in this war, and, filled with terrible wrath, slaughtered humans without mercy. Had they only attacked the armies of Malromos, who was then called the Dread Lord, the war would have ended sooner. No person in Summerland had love for the Dread Lord, but they gave up that hatred for protection from the enraged dragons. And so the war lasted until the end of his evil reign.

Now in the seventh year of the reign of Malromos, and late in the first year of the Drakadam War, word had spread across the world of the violence that took place in Summerland. At that time, the empire of Titan reigned supreme in the region of Ostruma, and made its capital city in the western mountains near the sea. The city was named Amonthril, the City of the Silver Hill, for it lay under the glorious shadow of Argentia, the forbidden mountain, and its road led west into Obcidia. Now the king of Titan was called Ramdir, and he had an advisor he loved as his closest friend named Fos, who was renowned for his wisdom as well as being said to be accomplished in the ways of magic.

One day, Fos had been caring for the small pokémon who lived in the shadow of Argentia, that forbidden mountain, and the earth shook beneath his feet. And when Fos looked, Zygarde came out of the side of Argentia, and was filled with rage. But Fos ran quickly to save the small pokemon who lived in the foothills of the mountain and the city, and maybe to calm Zygarde of his rage, for was destroying the land. Now when Fos approached the enraged dragon, he cried aloud and held a jewel above his head.

"Hear me, great Dragon of Order!" Fos wailed. "Why dost thou wreck the land so? Hath my people and offended thee, or the little ones here? I beg thy mercy for them, and beg thee to listen. Will thou not let me try to amend our evil for thee?"

And when Zygarde saw the man and the jewel, he ceased his rampage upon the mountain. Yet, the eyes of Zygarde were filled with rage, as well as sorrow, and the growls of his voice were deep with hate. But after a moment, Zygarde regarded Fos, and spoke.

"Human," Zygarde growled, "why dost thou render me? Thou hath called me by my title, but I do not know thee. I would strike thee down, but thou hast an authority that stilled my heart. Speak! What hast thou done to calm me? I shall not keep quiet for thee long."

"I am Fos," the young man said. "And my authority to speak to thee is not my own, but a part of the sacred oath my forefathers made to Ho-oh long ago. I am the bridge of friendship between pokémon and humans."

"Then thou art a blind and deaf emissary of this world!" Zygarde mocked. "Hast thou not heard?! The War of Dragons and Men hath stained the world with innocent blood in the Summerland. Why should I not destroy thee and thy pitiful race?"

"If what thou say is true, then thou hath every reason to kill me and my people," Fos frowned. "But I beg thee to allow me to take up the oath of my forefathers, and bring peace once again between pokémon and humans."

"I shall allow thee a chance to prove thy words," Zygarde growled. "But if thou art found to be false, I shall kill thee and take the jewel in thy possession."

So Fos took Zygarde into the city of Amonthril and before King Ramdir. When Fos told Ramdir of the Drakadam in the Summerland to the south-east, the king wept bitterly because of the evil that had been done. Yet, the Titan Empire had its own recoveries to make, and Ramdir could not provide support to the dragons of the Summerland. But when Zygarde began to fill with rage once more, Fos intervened.

"Spare this city, great dragon of order!" Fos begged. "I know of an army that could be of thy service. Use me and those who wilt follow me, but spare my king and home thy wrath."

"What army, human?" Zygarde growled, anger still in his eyes, but Fos turned to Ramdir and knelt before the king.

"I ask, my old friend and king, that thou wouldst give me leave to go to Argentia," Fos bowed his head. "There, I shall show Zygarde the army I spoke of, and uproot the Dread Lord of the Summerland from this world."

"Wouldst thou abandon the kingdom thou hast sworn thy life to?" Ramdir asked with a heavy heart, reluctant to let his old friend go.

"To defeat the darkness to the south is to defend the people and pokémon of this land," Fos answered. "It is my duty to leave thy side and fight this evil as thou hast commanded me."

"Then go, my old friend," Ramdir spoke sadly. "Do thy duty, and return to my side when thou hast finished."

"Nay, my king," Fos raised his head to look Ramdir in the eyes. "For when I do this, I will take an authority that shall put me at odds with thee. Therefore, I ask that if I return, thou wouldst give me leave to retire to the southern mountains and hills by the sea."

"If that is thy wish, I shall not withhold from thee," Ramdir nodded. "Now leave, and may Arceus watch thy steps."

Therefore Fos left the city with Zygarde and they went up the forbidden mountain. Now three had passed when they came to the summit of Argentia, and Fos held aloft his jewel at the peak. And when the jewel met the light of the sun, a fiery rainbow appeared before them and Ho-oh came forth from the blaze.

"Who hath summoned me from my watch over this world?" Ho-oh demanded, his eyes ablaze with the same fire as the rainbow he came from.

"I have," Fos answered, and bowed before the rainbow bird before speaking again. "To uphold my duty to protect the world of men and pokémon alike, I have called upon thee to make good on thy pact with the servants of the Sylvan Elemental Lord."

"Proof of thy lineage thou have," Ho-oh nodded, "but why should I aid men? Have they not corrupted themselves and made war upon the dragon-kind?"

"Indeed, the sons and daughters of the Summerland hath brought ruin on humanity," Zygarde growled. "They are surely to be wiped from the world!"

"Then thy kin shall fall with us!" Fos cried. "If thou wouldst not heed the call of the Elemental Lords, wouldst thou heed the call of the bond between Sato and Giratina?"

But Ho-oh fell quiet and landed before the pair. And when the eyes of Ho-oh met the eyes of Fos, the great rainbow bird examined the heart of the human before him. And after quiet counsel, Ho-oh spread his wings once more, and fire came out from them.

"Thou art either wise or cruel to call upon such names," Ho-oh cried to the heavens. "But the name of Giratina, I shall not ignore. Yet, I shall not put aside my anger against humanity."

"Then take out thy anger upon me," Fos stared at Ho-oh. "I invoke the call of the Order of Flowers to take up the sword against the evil worked in the Summerland. Let me avenge the dragons of the Summerland, and pokémon across the world."

"Then I shalt call the Flower Knights to thee," Ho-oh relented. "But for thy punishment, I require the blood of thy kin."

"I have no kin," Fos frowned. "There is only me."

"Not so!" Ho-oh answered. "For thou hath a cousin from afar in the west. Shalt I take your blood, or hers?"

"Then take mine," Fos said firmly. "I wish no harm upon her."

"Thou hast chosen wisely," Ho-oh nodded, "for she shall bear two lines that will either see the world break, or help to reshape it. But thy life remains thine for now. When it is time, I shalt take it, and my anger satisfied. Yet, when thy life becomes mine, I shalt take thy jewel as well, and grant it to thy cousin. Therefore, go, and prepare ships and food. For I shalt gather the Flower Knights from all the corners of the world, and they shalt be the greatest army the world hath ever seen. Look for their coming in four years, and thou shalt have thy army."

And so Ho-oh went his way, and Zygarde, being satisfied that his kind was to be helped, went away also. Now it was late in the fourth year of the Drakadam War when the Flower Knights and their pokémon had fully arrived to the call of Fos. When they set sail southwards for the Summerland, the number of Knights were two hundred thousand, and their pokemon were counted six for each Knight.

It was in the fifth year of the war, the twelfth year of the reign of the Dread Lord, Malromos, that Fos landed upon the shores of the Summerland with the Flower Knights. Green and silver were the colors of their banners, crimson was the color of their swords, and it seemed that the sun followed them wherever they marched. Where they went, it was as if they brought the very wrath of Arceus with them, and death quickly took those who did not flee at the sight of them.

Now it took the Flower Knights a year to wipe the Summerland clean of the filth of Malromos, and they surrounded the capital of the Summerland and put it to siege. But for all their strength, the Flower Knights had taken their toll; for they had lost many to the mad and evil devices of the Dread Lord, and the dragon-kind of the Summerland refused to help them, distrusting humans. But Fos thought cautiously on the matter and resolved to starve the defenders of the capital fortress out. It was by the end of the sixth and final year of the Drakadam War, the thirteenth year of his reign, that Malromos resolved to break the siege with all his strength; for he had taken many provisions from the people of the Summerland during their long oppression and had not been starved much, and had heard whispers of some dissent amongst the Flower Knight. Some of this dissent was caused by complaints from Knights who felt too far from home for too long, and others were caused by jealous rumors of Fos taking a beautiful Knight he had fallen for to his tent.

And so Malromos struck fast and hard against the Flower Knights in the dead of night to try to break them. Many on both sides fell that day, and it seemed that victory would go to the Dread Lord, but a great roar sounded above the clashing armies and Rayquaza appeared to them alongside Ho-oh, with a legion of the dragon-kind at their backs. Thus the dragons and Flower Knights drove back the army of Malromos and entered into the fortress-city. But even as they entered, the Dread Lord came forth and did battle with Fos. The two struggled against each other long and hard, neither giving an inch, but the demon that possessed Malromos drove harder. Fos, understanding his strength was fading and that the demon could not be overwhelmed by force alone, therefore, used his own magic that came from his jewel; he cut down the demon with his power, and as Malromos fell, Ho-oh swept down with his fire and struck down Fos as well. Thus the Dread Lord and Fos perished that day, and the Flower Knights disbanded, having lost their last chieftain and no known heir to replace him.

…

 **Hey, everyone! Sorry about the lateness of this chapter. It was a tough write, but fun to come up with this piece of backstory! Anyway, please leave your reviews. For the next chapter, I plan to get back to May and Dawn, and the story of them trying to piece together the information they got from the book this chapter goes into. Have a good day!**


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